Police in Nairobi are detaining a flashy businessman in connection with a suspected Sh151 million mineral deal gone sour.
Kevin Sonko, who grew up in Kibra and has been sharing flashy images on his social media accounts, was reportedly nabbed on February 22, 2024.
He was arrested while inside his office located at China Wu Yi Plaza in Kilimani, a Nairobi suburb, by sleuths attached to Operation Support Unit (SOU) of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
A sleuth attached to the DCI and who is privy to the ongoing investigations said the suspect is linked to a team that defrauded a Chinese national.
“It is believed he knows what transpired at the time,” the sleuth who spoke in confidence as they are not authorised to address the media said.
DCI detectives have been investigating an incident where a businessman paid the money for containers of tantalum minerals which he had been informed were from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The containers were then reportedly intercepted in Mombasa and when they were checked officers found them to be soil.
It took the intervention of officials at the Mombasa Port to insist that they would like to check what the container was carrying that led to the discovery.
A DCI report indicated the incident is linked to fake gold scammers who operate between Nairobi’s Kilimani and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
During the raid, ten individuals were arrested and later released.
The officers had raided the offices after they were informed that the main suspect in the fake mineral deal was at Kevin’s office.
