Police seize Sh504, 000 of fake currency in Mumias

 

Police in Mumias have arrested two women in possession of fake currency notes worth Sh504, 000.

The suspects were nabbed at a local hotel where they were holding the fake currencies still in process of manufacturing.

Mumias West Sub-County Police Commander Peter Kattam said they received a tip-off from another customer who was at the hotel on Sunday evening.

“We got information from one of the customers who suspected that the two were involved in illegal activity,” said Kattam.

Led by the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) officers, a raid was carried out at the hotel that saw the two apprehended.

In one room the police found the two women aged 24 and 27 and after searching the suspects bags 504 dark papers of the new Sh1000 currency denomination were found.

The dark papers used for making fake currency were already trimmed with images of Sh1, 000.

The suspects are residents of Ruai in Nairobi and had spent two days at the hotel and told the police they were on transit back to the city.

The police said the ladies were in company of a man believed to be the main suspect of the illegal trade but during the raid he was not at the premises.

Mr Kattam said they were still trailing the other suspect.

The police boss said investigations were ongoing and that efforts were ongoing to dismantle the cartel engaging in making fake currency in the area.

Kattam further urged the residents to be keen on the new currency notes to avoid being duped with fake ones. 

Elsewhere in the neighboring Mumias East sub county police are holding one male suspect for allegation of defiling a minor at Matawa market.

The suspect Hassan Ochieng, 47 was rescued from a mob after residents of the village found him in the act with the four-year-old girl.

Residents said they saw the suspect on Sunday evening entering his house with the neighbours child and after a short while the child shouted in distress prompting their intervention.

The suspect was nabbed and the angry crowd started beating him up with the aim of burning him alive.

Mumias East Police Commander Joseph Ongaya said he was alerted by the village elders where his officer swung into action to rescue the suspect from the irate mob.

“We were informed that a person was been beaten up at the market, we went and in turn found out that the man was a suspect in a defilement incident,” said Onganya.

The child was also rescued at rushed to the hospital for treatment with the suspect been held at Shianda police station pending medical report from the hospital before being arraigned.