High-ranking AP officer loses Sh24M buying an iron box, stove & rupee

A high-ranking police officer Abdirahaman Ali Dima, was allegedly swindled out of Sh24.3 million by a businessman, Ray Ochieng Otieno.

According to court documents, Otieno pretended to sell Dima four items among them a rupee, a stove, a beacon, and an iron box, for Sh36 million.

He reportedly convinced the police officer that the valuable items containing prized minerals could make a profit of over Sh128 million if sold.

It all started when Dima was approached by an aquaintance he met when he was in charge of the Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit (CIPU) in Central Region.

The person claimed to be selling the four items and linked Dima with Otieno and his accomplices.

Otieno and his accomplices allegedly told Dima that they had connections with foreign dealers interested in buying the four items.

Dima met the suspects, and they convinced him that the items were genuine and in high demand.

They introduced a foreigner as the dealer interested in buying the items, and they arranged a meeting with the alleged owner of the items in Mai Mahiu.

The suspects requested Dima to pay Sh3.7 million to release the items from the alleged owner.

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Dima raised the money, and they proceeded to Mai Mahiu, where they met the owner, identified as Masai.

They told Dima that the dealer would only accept buying the items if they paid Sh10 million, and Dima involved his friend Ibrahim Isaack Musa, who raised an additional Sh3 million.

The suspects allegedly continued to obtain different amounts of money from Dima and Musa until they exhausted their cash in January 2023. They had been jointly defrauded of Sh31.5 million.

Dima and Musa reported the matter to Buruburu police station, and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) took over the investigations.

One of Otieno’s accomplices, Abdoul Said Homoud, was arrested and charged in February.

Otieno was traced and arrested on May 6, after evading arrest by shuttling between Nairobi and Kajiado counties. He denied the charges before Chief Magistrate Francis Kyambia.

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