Kenyan authorities have deported 19 Chinese nationals accused of involvement in alleged cybercrime-related offences.
The group, comprising 18 men and one woman, was deported on Friday afternoon in a joint operation by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Department of Immigration.
The suspects, who had been arrested over alleged cybercrime-related offences in Kenya and China, departed on July 10, 2026.
Police said the deportation process was completed without any security incidents.
The foreigners were arrested following a major operation targeting a suspected cyber fraud syndicate operating from an apartment in Nairobi’s Kilimani area.
The operation was conducted on the afternoon of July 6 by detectives from the DCI based at Kilimani, working alongside officials from the Chinese Embassy.
According to police, the team acted on intelligence and raided an apartment along Kindaruma Road, where they found what investigators described as an active cyber fraud workstation.
Police said the group targeted accounts outside the country and allegedly routed funds through Kenya before cashing them.
The 19 suspects were arrested during the operation, while several other occupants are believed to have escaped before or during the raid, officials said.
During the operation, detectives recovered 39 Chinese passports and seven Malaysian passports, which police said suggested possible links to multiple foreign nationals.
Investigators also seized equipment believed to have been used in the alleged cybercrime operations, including seven CPUs, 11 Samsung desktop computers, 16 laptops, 17 keyboards, 19 computer mice, 18 USB-C ports, four uninterruptible power supply (UPS) units, three Safaricom Wi-Fi routers, extension cables, chargers and other electronic accessories.
The team further recovered 26 mobile phones comprising 18 iPhones, seven Huawei handsets and one Redmi phone.
Cash recovered from the apartment included Sh293,000 in Kenyan currency and 22 banknotes of 20,000 Malagasy ariary.
Police later searched three additional apartments within the same complex that are believed to have been occupied by members of the suspected syndicate.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspects entered Kenya within the past month from various countries, including China, Malaysia, Cambodia and Madagascar.
Crime scene investigators documented and processed the premises before the suspects were taken to Kilimani Police Station, where they remained in custody before their deportation.
Authorities have launched investigations to establish the nature and extent of the suspected cyber fraud operation, identify any local collaborators and trace those who escaped during the raid.
