A six-member cybercrime syndicate accused of orchestrating a complex fraud operation involving caller ID spoofing has been arrested in Nyali, Mombasa County, following a covert security operation led by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
The suspects — Fortune Muthina Kinyanzui alias Albanas Kyalo (believed to be the mastermind), Ruel Kipkoech Yator alias Papa Ruel, Laban Kipkirui Koech, Weldon Kipyegon Rono, Towet Kipkorir Alphonce, and Kelvin Kipyegon Koech — were apprehended on May 31 after weeks of surveillance and intelligence gathering.
DCI officers, acting on a tip-off, tracked the group to an Airbnb unit at APA Apartments, House No. B2, located along 1st Avenue in Nyali. The premises, officials say, had been turned into a fully operational fraud hub — complete with training setups and digital infrastructure for social engineering scams.
The suspects allegedly used sophisticated caller ID spoofing software to mimic legitimate phone numbers belonging to banks and telecom companies. Masquerading as customer service agents, they would call unsuspecting victims, creating panic and urgency to trick them into revealing sensitive personal and financial information.
Authorities believe the ring’s operations are linked to the infamous “Mulot Swapper” network, which has been responsible for a wave of SIM swap fraud and mobile banking heists across Kenya and the region.
“The application used by the suspects was so critical to their scheme that they paid more than Sh500,000 to acquire, configure, and receive a secure IP address,” said a senior DCI officer familiar with the case.
During the raid, detectives recovered 19 mobile handsets, dozens of SIM cards and holders across multiple networks — including Safaricom, Airtel, Telkom, and MTN Uganda — as well as a notebook containing records of potential victims.
The six suspects were presented at Kahawa Law Courts on June 3 through a miscellaneous application seeking custodial orders to enable conclusion of investigations. The magistrate in Court No. 2 ordered that the matter be mentioned again on June 6, 2025, for a ruling on continued detention.
The suspects are currently being held at Capitol Hill Police Station in Nairobi.
Authorities have urged members of the public who may have fallen victim to this form of fraud to report to their nearest police station or liaise directly with DCI Headquarters for further guidance on pursuing justice.
The arrests mark a significant breakthrough in the country’s battle against high-tech fraud syndicates, which continue to pose a growing threat to digital financial systems.
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