Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Friday, October 6, recovered 7,420 bags of caustic soda worth over Ksh267 million in Uganda.
This was after DCI officers in collaboration with detectives from Uganda Criminal Investigations Department and Interpol launched investigations into the matter.
The goods in seven containers had been swindled from an Indian businessman Surya Parkash by international fraudsters.
The DCI reported that the recovery operation, which brought detectives to the Bweyogere Industrial Area in Kampala, Uganda, was initiated following a complaint by the businessman.
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“Detectives have made a breakthrough in the investigation of an international fraud case where businessmen based in India lost goods worth over Sh267 Million, to suspected fraudsters based in Uganda, assisted by local thugs,” DCI noted in a statement.
Surya Parkash had supplied a consignment of 104 containers of caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) to fictitious companies between December 12, 2022 and April 22, 2023.
Caustic soda is used as a reagent in laboratories and also as a cleansing agent .
“According to the complainant who flew to Kenya from India to file his report at DCI headquarters, five companies identified as Abbey Chemicals East Africa LTD, Innospec LTD, Akoki Investment Agency LTD, CJP Chemicals LTD and UNATRAL Free Zone SMC Uganda LTD, had ordered for the consignment which was delivered through the port of Mombasa, between January 31, 2023 and May 15, 2023,” read part of the DCI report.
After the last container was offloaded at the port, the consignees who had not paid for the shipment went missing, and severed communication with the supplier.
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The DCI has added that the officers are still pursuing the case to recover the rest of the shipment and arrest suspects involved.
In a separate incident, the DCI has revealed how they tracked down and arrested a politician involved in conning people in fake gold deals in Nairobi.
Jonathan Okoth Opande who vied for the Nyakach parliamentary seat in the 2022 polls had evaded police for months until Friday, October 6.
Opande was arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) after booking a flight from Nairobi to Kisumu.
He is being accused of defrauding two Thai nationals of over Ksh13 million, in a fake gold deal.
“According to a complaint lodged at the Royal Thai Embassy in April 2023 by Messrs Kitvisit Songsri and Nutsaphol Songsri, the suspect posing as the CEO of Blu Afrique LTD obtained the money from them in the pretext that he would supply them gold whose quantity was not immediately established,” DCI noted in a report.
