After months on the run, two gold scammers who have been slipping through the police dragnet were finally been brought to book in Nairobi’s Kilimani area.
Detectives from the Operation Support Unit (OSU) arrested Benson Gembe Odero and Emmaculate Adhiambo Othuno, the masterminds behind a multi-million-shilling gold scam targeting foreign investors.
The case traces back to September 2024, when two investors from Dubai lodged a complaint.
Lured by the promise of a lucrative deal to purchase 35 kilograms of gold, the investors flew to Kenya after days of negotiations.
On arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), they were chauffeured to a plush Kilimani hotel and introduced to an elaborate network of accomplices, some posing as KRA Customs officers, Ministry of Mining officials, and even licensed private jet operators.
Before they realized they were being conned, the scammers had already fleeced them of USD54,300 (Sh6 million).
Following the complaint, detectives mounted an intensive investigation.
On November 5, 2024, coordinated raids were carried out in Runda, Ridgeways, and the Industrial Area, where the victims had been taken to “formalize” the bogus deal, where thirty-one suspects were arrested and arraigned.
However, Odero and Othuno managed to stay one step ahead until August 13, 2025, when OSU detectives finally cornered and arrested them in a targeted operation.
The two appeared on August 14, 2025, before Milimani Law Courts for plea taking.
They denied the charges, and the case was adjourned to August 18, 2025, for the determination of their bond terms.
This is the latest such an arrest to take place amid operations on gold scammers in the country.
Police say most of the suspects behind the incidents have been arrested and arraigned and their cases remain active in courts.
The operations have been mounted in the past years after many foreigners complained they had been scammed in the city.
Nairobi was increasingly turning to be the hub for fake gold deals, which prompted the operations.
Police say they have dozens of cases of complaints from foreigners who say they had been conned by Kenyans pretending to be selling gold.
In efforts to address such incidents, the DCI had asked embassies in the country to join the fight against the vice by urging them to advise their nationals engaged in trade to follow procedures.
“We urge the Embassies (High Commissions) to advise their nationals coming in for business to be apprised of con business of gold going on in the country and first contact the Department of Mines and Geology for the procedure that pertains to buying and selling of gold and other precious metals,” the DCI said.
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