A major cybercrime operation in Nairobi has led to the arrest of 18 Chinese nationals after detectives dismantled what investigators believe was a sophisticated fraud workstation operating from a luxury apartment in the city’s Kilimani neighbourhood.

The operation was conducted by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) based at Kilimani Police Station, working jointly with officials from the Chinese Embassy.

According to police, the suspects were arrested inside Apartment C1801 on the 18th floor of Meteor Gardens Apartments along Kindaruma Road, where detectives discovered what they described as a fully equipped cyber operations centre.

Investigators recovered dozens of electronic devices believed to have been used in online fraud schemes, including seven computer CPUs, 11 Samsung desktop computers, 16 laptops, 18 USB-C ports, 17 keyboards, 19 computer mice, four UPS backup units, three Safaricom Wi-Fi routers and 16 extension cables.

Police also seized 18 iPhones, seven Huawei smartphones and a Redmi handset.

The detectives recovered 39 Chinese passports and seven Malaysian passports, suggesting the operation involved foreign nationals from multiple countries. Cash recovered at the scene included KSh293,000 and 22 banknotes of Madagascar’s 20,000 denomination currency. A weighing scale was also seized as part of the investigation.

The arrests did not end at the alleged cyber workstation.

Further investigations led detectives to three additional apartments within the same residential complex, identified as F10C01, C301 and C505, which investigators believe served as residences for the suspects.

Preliminary findings indicate that the group had arrived in Kenya within the past month through different travel routes from China, Malaysia, Cambodia and Madagascar, raising fresh questions about the use of Kenya as a regional base for transnational cybercrime syndicates.

Investigators are now examining the suspects’ immigration records, financial transactions and digital equipment to establish the full scope of the alleged operation, including whether victims were targeted in Kenya or abroad.

The latest arrests come as Kenyan authorities intensify efforts to dismantle organised cybercrime networks increasingly linked to foreign criminal groups.

Over the past several years, the DCI has conducted multiple raids targeting foreign-run cyber fraud centres operating from high-end apartments and gated estates in Nairobi. Investigators have previously uncovered operations allegedly involved in online investment scams, romance fraud, cryptocurrency fraud, phishing attacks and telecommunications-related crimes targeting victims across Asia, Europe and Africa.

Law enforcement agencies have warned that criminal syndicates are increasingly relocating cyber operations across borders, taking advantage of rented residential apartments that can be converted into temporary command centres equipped with computers, high-speed internet connections and multiple mobile devices.

The involvement of officials from the Chinese Embassy in the latest operation also underscores growing cooperation between Kenyan authorities and foreign governments in tackling cross-border cybercrime involving their nationals.

Detectives are expected to subject the seized electronic devices to forensic examination to determine the nature of the alleged fraud, identify potential victims and establish whether the suspects were linked to a larger international criminal network.

The suspects remain in police custody pending further investigations and are expected to be arraigned once detectives complete processing the evidence and recommend appropriate charges under Kenya’s cybercrime, immigration and criminal laws.