Two Arrested as Police Recover 5,000 Safaricom SIM Cards in M-Pesa Fraud Crackdown

Detectives have arrested two suspects and recovered over 5,000 Safaricom SIM cards in a major crackdown on M-Pesa fraud in Mumias, Kakamega County.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said the operation was carried out in Bomani Teachers’ Estate, Mumias town, following intelligence reports.

The suspects, identified as 30-year-old Jonathan Ambwaya Kwini and his 23-year-old accomplice Timothy Siloche Wesonga, were found with a Safaricom Mobicom phone used for SIM card registration, four Itel phones, 70 Airtel SIM cards, 24 Telkom SIM cards, and more than 5,000 Safaricom SIM cards.

Police also recovered 142 national ID cards belonging to different people, which they believe were being used to run the fraud scheme.

“Both Kwini and Wesonga have since been escorted, along with the incriminating evidence, to Kakamega Police Station. They are set to appear in court on Monday,” DCI said in a statement on Friday.