Fake Gold Scammer Stephen Magero Arrested in Nairobi Over Sh4.4M Fraud

A joint operation consisting of police drawn from Langata Sub-county has led to the arrest of a suspect in connection with a fraudulent gold scam involving a Pakistani national.

The fake gold dealer identified as Stephen Magero was arrested at Sultan Suites, Ngong View Estate, following investigations into a complaint filed by the foreign national who reported being defrauded of USD 34,800 (Sh4.4 million).

Investigations have revealed that the suspect presented the complainant with 500 grams of counterfeit gold and received the payment in cash, police said.

Subsequent testing of the gold revealed it to be fake, prompting the complainant to report the matter at Karen Police Station.

A search conducted at the suspect’s office resulted to the recovery of ten bars of suspected fake gold, business cards bearing the name John Mbalaka, a MacBook Pro laptop, smelting machines and related apparatus, a mining certificate under the name Chawanda Minerals, a weighing machine, two plastic boxes containing sand and several assorted files and documents.