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Three 17-year-olds who staged a kidnapping to extort Sh6
million from one of their families were arrested in a police operation in Meru
County.
According to police investigations, the con began in
Kainginyo, Thimbiri, when two male suspects and a female accomplice, the
alleged victim, devised a plan to falsely report her abduction.
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations
(DCI) said the trio's plan included faking a kidnapping for ransom.
The group then made ransom demands to her parents, warning
that their daughter would disappear for good if the hefty sum was not paid.
According to DCI, on September 24, the Meru Police Station
received a report from one of the affected families who believed their daughter
had been abducted.
According to police, frantic and desperate, the family tried
to negotiate with the supposed kidnappers, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
Officers from the station launched an immediate manhunt,
reassuring the distressed family that they were working to bring their daughter
back safely.
However, as the investigation continued, detectives from
Imenti North discovered the truth about the abduction that the abductee had
conspired with her two male accomplices to stage her own kidnapping in a
misguided attempt to extort the money from her own family.
Following a forensic investigation, authorities tracked down
the teenagers to a hideout in Kainginyo, where they were arrested on September
30.
During the raid, detectives said they discovered 20 rolls of
marijuana in the teen's possession.
While the family was relieved that their daughter was
unharmed, the three teenagers were detained at Igoji Police Station pending
grilling, police said.
Police described it as a classic case of misguided
get-rich-quick mentality.
Counselors were also contacted to talk to the teenagers as
part of efforts to address the issue.