The perpetrator of a US$100,000 (Ksh13M) gold scam was arrested as he tried to sneak back through the Busia border.
The Congolese national is in police custody. “A Congolese fake money fraudster who defrauded a Ghanaian merchant out of a $100,000 transaction in 2023 is chilling in his cell in Kenya after trying to sneak back through the Busia border,” a criminal investigation says. Directorate General said. DCI).
Puati Pova Daly, 35, was arrested by immigration officials following a cease and desist order issued when she lodged a complaint at the Operational Support Unit office in Nairobi in September 2023.
“In a classic case where an ignorant gold dealer loses millions of dollars to a ruthless gold miner in a multinational organization, the victim's path to suffering and destitution ends when he meets Poorti at a hotel in Ghana during his lunch break. During the course of the interaction, Puati introduced himself as Osman from Nigeria. He was in Ghana for work, but his residence and work address were in Uganda. “After learning that the victim was interested in buying and selling gold, he introduced him to a dealer in Uganda and promised that he could then sell the gold in Dubai,” the DCI explained.
The victim flew to Uganda on August 1, 2023, where he introduced the alleged dealers, Ben and Hassan, posing as brothers.
“Over the next few weeks, the victim was thrown around by the three extortionists, each time extorting US$71,300 (Sh10.7 million) in the name of 10kg of gold documentation. Certification, melting and taxation. Payment of the gold agreed at $33,000 per kg was to be made upon delivery to Dubai,” the DCI said in X.
The unsuspecting victim, a Ghanaian national, boarded a flight to the UAE ahead of his luggage on August 9th. A few days later, he booked a flight back to Uganda on August 13 to check on the gold, but he was informed that the gold was being held at Kenyan customs, where it had mistakenly passed.
He then boarded a flight to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), where Puati's accomplices, identified only as Daniel and Lucy, paid close to $30,000 (more than Sh4.3 million) in taxes and non-existent liquidations. Rolled up. Gold – from August 14, 2023 to his September 1.
They then put him on a flight to Dubai on the pretext that the flight attendants had secured a safe containing the money.
“The DCI OSU team first learned of the foul play when uncontrollable screams and cries were witnessed during takeoff, the victim was ejected from the plane and the complaint was logged. “Following his arrest, an investigation is underway with a view to arresting other members of the criminal organization,” the DCI added.
