Police have arrested a man suspected of impersonating journalist Eric Latiff and contacting guests hosted on his show before soliciting for handouts from them.
The DCI said the suspect, 30, was arrested in Kikuyu’s Zambezi area and the phone he was using for the criminal activity seized.
Messages found on the cell phone showed he had targeted unsuspecting prominent personalities known to other renowned journalists in Kenya’s media industry.
“In the imposture dating back to 2023, the suspect has been personating journalist and radio host Eric Latiff of Standard Group's Spice FM, reaching out to guests hosted by the media personality in his Situation Room show,” the DCI said.
In the grand scheme of things, detectives said the suspect sends 'thank you' messages to the guests after every show before embarking on coning them in the guise of needing "kakitu nimekwama mahali".
The DCI said among those targeted by the suspect is a Principal Secretary, a renowned businessman, a politician and a senior officer at a power utility company.
“Upon arrest and brief interrogation, the suspect alleged to be a diploma holder in journalism from a renowned media institution in the country, and previuosly working with a religious FM radio,” the DCI said in a statement.
Police said they have since retrieved crucial evidence from the suspect including the SIM cards he used to send messages to his victims and received the solicited cash.
The gadgets have been submitted to the Digital Forensic Laboratory for analysis.
“Meanwhile, a Milimani court has granted detectives at the Nairobi Regional Headquarters seven days to complete investigations,” the DCI said.
The development came on the same day DCI boss Mohamed Amin said the department has managed to contain the menace of money laundering cases involving deals in fake gold.
Amin who spoke at the DCI headquarters on Tuesday, June 11 when he hosted FBI director Christopher Wray said some of the suspects involved in the racket are foreigners from mineral-rich countries who use Kenya as a transit hub.
“We believe that this type of fraud has more to it in the underworld of money laundering, and that’s why our concerted efforts will eventually bring it to its knees,” he said.