Nairobi,
Friday, 5 April, 2024
McCreadie Andias
Main suspect in Sh151 million mineral scam has been arrested Today moments after touch down from Entebbe, Uganda.
Ulundu Patrick Lumumba Alias Gabriel Kulonda Alias Lumumba Patrick Byarufu is connected to a scam where two containers filled with sand in the guise of Tantalum minerals were intercepted in the port of Mombasa .
The suspect was intercepted along Harambee Avenue in Nairobi, minutes after evading detection by Immigration officials at JKIA.
Upon his arrest,fake passports were also recovered.
The suspect is said to have is scammed a female Chinese national Sh151 million after one of three containers declared to contain tantalum minerals was opened in China, only to be found loaded with drums of sand, triggering investigations at the port of Mombasa, the transit route.
In the preliminary stages, two 20ft containers also containing sand had been found at the Mombasa port, before hawk-eyed sleuths intercepted a third one (40ft) at a warehouse still at the port.
According to a report by DCI, two more containers had been cleared and shipped to Dubai, with Some port officials believed to have compromised security checks to facilitate the illegal transactions.
The Sh151 million which was deposited at a bank has already been frozen.
However, the syndicate had already obtained over Sh49 million along the way by working with suspected rogue bank officials.
The suspect will be arraigned this morning at Milimani Law Courts.