Three suspected land cone artists have been arrested in Ruiru after a three day search for them after they allegedly received Kshs. 5 million from a man who was purchasing land. The three, Mary Wanjira popularly known as Wa Njeru, Martin Kimbo and Erastus Kinuthia all pretended to be land dealers and owners.They then allegedly conned Mr. Julius Mwenje by selling him a 1 acre land in Ruiru that costed Kshs. 5 million.
They produced fake documents and received the money before they disappeared. Mr. Mwenje after discovering the fraudulence reported the matter at Ruiru police station where the search was launched for the three suspects.
Confirming the incident from his office, OCPD SSP Isaac Thuranira said that cases of land fraudsters had been on the rise in the area especially due to the fact that there were still lands for sale in some parts of the region. He revealed that the search for the three had been ongoing before police used a mobile tracking device to track the phone of one of them.
He explained that they were all found in a rental office in Ruiru town where they were operating their business. He said that these suspects were very smart to an extent whereby they had an office to convince buyers they were genuine.
"We have arrested the three suspects and we also recovered a bunch of fake documents that they use to convince buyers. I want to sound a warning to fraudsters that their days are numbered. I want to also urge buyers to be very vigilant and follow the right process when acquiring land,’’ said Thuranira.
He confirmed that the business had no permit and that the three were operating illegally. He said that they were all in police custody and will later on be taken to court.