Three arrested in Sh8b Congo gold heist case

Police in Nairobi on Wednesday arrested three people over theft of gold worth Sh8 billion from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The three Congolese, Jean Claude Mundeke Kambamba aka General, Ruphin Kazadi Elumba and Jean Claude Kanza Dyansangu, were arrested around 1am on Wednesday in Kawangware and police accuse them of being part of a group linked to the smuggling of 2.5 tonnes of gold with an estimated value of Sh8 billion or US $113 million, allegedly brought into the country from Democratic Republic of Congo.

Details were scanty, but detectives said they had been trailing the group for a while and they picked them up from a “hideout”.

Later, police accompanied them to their rented house at Ole Dume Serviced Apartments Hotel in Kilimani, where officers confiscated the suspects’ laptops.

Detectives believe the computers have vital information regarding the gold heist. Three vehicles, a Mercedes Benz, Toyota Lexus and a Nissan Tiida saloon, were driven out of the apartments’ parking lot to the Flying Squad offices.

Police said the men had what they described as forged papers identifying them as gold miners from the DRC. It is suspected that the Congolese have defrauded many people of millions of shillings by pretending they can sell them gold.

Nairobi police boss Anthony Kibuchi said one such victim had reported the case, but was currently not in the country.

“We have so many complaints, but these people use different nicknames like ‘Captain’, ‘General’ and ‘Major’, I am sure many complainants will come up once they are charged,” he said. The group targets mainly foreigners, police said.

A case is pending in court where another group of suspects is charged with pretending that it could sell a Mr Dennis Ray 825kg of gold, valued at Sh864 million. (READ: Probe into smuggled gold deepens)

Wednesday’s arrest follows another in DRC of a suspect based in Kenya, police said. The Investigations Bureau at CID headquarters is appealing to any person who may have been defrauded by con men pretending to trade in gold to report to the police.

Failure by victims to follow up fraud causes has resulted in some of them being thrown out of the courts.

A case in point is when suspects were let go after they were accused of fraudulently obtaining $350,000 (Sh28 million) from two Americans working for Community Finance Group in the US, Mr Andrew Vilenchik and Mr Carry Larsen in June 2009.

They later claimed they were in a position to sell another 3.7 tones of gold valued at Sh6 billion to the victims.

Investigators believe gold from the DRC is smuggled to overseas markets through Kenya. In February, some 2.5 tones of gold with an estimated value of Sh8 billion was stolen from Eastern Congo.

DRC officials believed those who stole it brought it to Kenya and requested local authorities to arrest the culprits, intercept the gold and return it to Kinshasa.

Experts from DRC came to investigate the matter, with President Kabila also coming to meet President Kibaki on the theft.

Senior Assistant Commissioner Joseph Kiptarus from Kenya Revenue Authority was given the task of establishing how gold from DRC is smuggled through Kenya to overseas markets, only to be shot dead in February by unknown people while carrying out investigations.

Congo’s Ministry of Mines estimates that 80 per cent of the country’s gold exports are smuggled. Congo has been trying to cut links between mineral smuggling and armed groups in the east of the country.