Police in Kilifi are holding a man suspected to have conned youth of more than Sh2 million by promising to recruit them into the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).
The suspect was arrested on Sunday at a hotel in Malindi Town.
ARREST
Police said he is the ring leader of a syndicate that has been operating in Mombasa and Kilifi counties.
He has been pretending to be a Kenya Navy officer, Mtwapa OCPD Joseph Muriuki said.
“We started pursuing him when we received several complaints from victims; some had sold their land and given him the money to secure the jobs,” said Mr Muriuki.
The OCPD said majority of the victims had participated in the KDF recruitment.
MANHUNT
Mr Muriuki said police have launched a manhunt of the other members of the gang.
“We are aware that he has not been operating alone. We are interrogating him to divulge more information regarding his accomplices,” said the police chief, adding that the suspect would be taken to court on Tuesday.
He said five people have already identified the suspect as the man who conned them.
“Among those who came forth are parents of the conned youth,” Mr Muriuki added.
The arrest comes a week after another suspect was arrested in Nairobi and accused of defrauding at least 132 people.