The two suspected criminals are expected to be charged before the Mombasa Chief Magistrate’s Court Friday morning.
The two were arrested by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) in Mombasa on Tuesday for raiding and extorting shop owners, while accompanied by uniformed police officers.
Preliminary investigations reveal that the arrested suspects, 𝗧𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗮 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗰𝗶 𝗞𝘄𝗲𝗻𝗮 and 𝗪𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲 𝗡𝘆𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗮, are part of a five-member gang of fraudsters working for a private entity called Multi-Works & Rights Enforcements, which has been falsely styling itself as a law enforcement body with powers to enforce consumer protection laws, and duping the National Police Service to assign them uniformed police officers for escort whenever conducting raids and arrests in a fake crackdown on purported sale of expired or counterfeit goods in supermarkets, shops and other business premises across the country.
In duping the police to assign them armed officers for escort during the fake law enforcement operations, the suspected criminals rely on a Notice they published in the Kenya Gazette assigning themselves powers and authority to enforce consumer protection laws in the country.
The fake agency, comprising ordinary private persons, is run by one Edward Olang (pictured below), the suspected mastermind and national coordinator of the fraudulent scheme.
Both the Kenya Bureau of Standards aand the Anti Counterfeit Authority have severally issued Public Notices warning Kenyans against falling victim to the operations of the fake and fraudulent agency.
Before raiding Mombasa, the suspects reportedly engaged in similar illegal activities in Kakamega, Kisumu, Meru and Voi.
The Commission arrested the suspects on Tuesday evening upon receipt of complaints that five suspicious individuals accompanied by uniformed police officers were inspecting goods in shops within Bamburi area and thereafter arresting, detaining and extorting shop owners alleging that they were selling expired goods. The Commission is pursuing three more suspects who escaped when detectives pounced.
The suspects were detaining the arrested shop owners at Kadzandani Mwatamba Police Station from where they ordered them to pay bribes ranging from Kes.20,000 to Kes.50,000 to be forgiven for ‘selling expired goods’ and secure release of their confiscated stock.
The arrested suspects were detained at Mombasa Central Police Station and arraigned before the Mombasa Anti-Corruption Court on Wednesday where custodial orders were issued.
They will be taken back to court Friday morning to take plea.
EACC has asked members of the public with any information on the suspects or their accomplices to share the same with EACC through Toll-Free No. 𝟭𝟱𝟱𝟭or email address: 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗮@𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆.𝗴𝗼.𝗸𝗲.
