The alleged Mulot SIM swap mastermind could have unsuccessfully vied for the Nyongores County Assembly Ward.
The suspect(name withheld for legal reasons) could have vied on a little known political party, but lost in the August polls.
This is according to campaign posters on social media.
Nyongores is one of the wards in Chepalungu Constituency, Bomet County.
On Wednesday, detectives unmasked a man whom they alleged to be the mastermind of the infamous Mulot SIM swap syndicate.
The DCI alleged that the suspect, who is at large, has several cases and warrants of arrest hanging around his neck.
DCI had said the identification of the Mulot SIM swap suspects followed comprehensive investigations by the detectives based at the elite Crime Research & Intelligence Bureau.
The sleuths believe that the main suspect is the de facto leader of the criminal enterprise, responsible for the SIM swap scam.
The suspects, according to a post by the DCI, hijack a victim’s cell phone number and use it to gain access to sensitive personal data and bank accounts through the mobile banking applications available on mobile phones.
In a recent case leading to the arrest of two of his alleged accomplices, the suspects had allegedly siphoned Sh941,000 from a bank account belonging to a legislator from Rift Valley.
The legislator was out of the country on official duties between December 2 and 3 this month.
Following the incident reported by the legislator, one the alleged suspects as tracked down by detectives and arrested in Mulot.
According to the DCI, the suspect who disguises himself as a boda boda rider, is one of the main suspect’s trusted allies.
The DCI alleged that the suspect ferries him on his bike discreetly to avoid detection from our hawk-eyed sleuths.
The DCI had alleged that the suspect had been showing off wads of cash following some of the alleged successful operations that they have conducted.
The DCI officers claimed that they had obtained the pictures.
A second suspect was also apprehended at Sigor market Bomet county.
DCI say the latest arrest of SIM swap fraudsters marks the beginning of the end of fraudsters they believe have sought refuge in the infamous trading centre that has gained notoriety for harbouring cons.
The suspected fraudsters, DCI claim, have perfected the act of impersonating senior government officials who recently obtained an unspecified amount of money from unsuspecting members of the public.
They pose as senior state officials who would influence employment and business opportunities at a fee.
The suspects who have registered multiple SIM cards using details from fraudulently acquired identification documents, deposit the siphoned money to different Mpesa accounts, in a bid to make it difficult for detectives to track them down.
In most instances, the fraudsters working in cahoots with rogue banking officials pose as customer care agents from banks and then ask for a customer’s account number, PIN, as well as details of the last transaction on the targeted account.
They then use the details to duplicate the victims’ accounts and after a successful SIM swap, the account is swept clean in a matter of seconds.
