Five suspects arrested for kidnapping man, demanding ransom

Detectives based in Parklands have arrested five suspects for kidnapping a man and demandinga ransom to set him free.

The five are Joseph Makau Mulatya, Patrick Wekesa Omosa, Rehema Njeri, Vigilance Mumbi and Hadija Ong’ai.

Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti said it is a crime that is growing where women lure unsuspecting men from social networking sites, before leading them to a room where the man is held hostage and asked to buy his freedom.

Three women who were arrested prey for men online, promising them a good time as a way to trap them.

With a special preference for men of caucasian origin, the women lure the smitten men to a house behind Ruaraka’s Naivas supermarket, with a promise of an action packed night from two to three women depending on ones preference.

"But moments before they get down, a rude knock suddenly interrupts the occasion as a man posing as a boyfriend to one of the women suddenly appears, throwing a spanner in the works of an eventful evening," Kinoti said.

"What follows are demands for a ransom depending on how deep one’s pockets are."

In Thursday’s incident, sleuths from a special team that has been on the trail of the 'babes' stormed the house where the victim was being held hostage.

"They found him stark naked, as the five suspects eagerly waited for an Mpesa transaction of Sh100,000 to set the man free."

"The man had called his relatives claiming that he had been involved in a road accident and needed Sh100,000 for treatment," DCI said.

Detectives who relied on cyber forensic leads to the house where the victim was being held, connected the crime to an incident that occurred last month, where a man was accosted in Parklands and robbed off Sh450,000.

The man has since identified the suspects positively, as those who milked the cash from his bank account in a similar operation.

The suspects will be arraigned and charged on Friday.