Detectives from the Operations Support Unit (OSU) have arrested Tim Orao Shikalo, a prime suspect in a high-level gold scam that swindled a foreign investor out of USD 265,200 equivalent to approximately KES 38 million.

Shikalo, who has been on the police radar for months, was taken into custody on Sunday in a major breakthrough linked to the ongoing probe into the multi-million-shilling fraud.

His arrest follows the earlier capture of Steve Okoth Odek, also known by the alias David Bett, who was apprehended on December 7, 2024, and subsequently charged over his involvement in the same scheme.

According to investigators, the scam revolved around forged contracts for the sale of more than 1,080 kilograms of gold. Victims were lured with promises of secure delivery, guaranteed collateral, and legal assurances that later turned out to be fake.

Forensic analysis has since confirmed that the so-called gold was in fact a deceptive mixture of copper, zinc, and tin containing no trace of actual precious metal.

Shikalo is currently in police custody as authorities process his file ahead of his arraignment.

Meanwhile, detectives say they are closing in on two more suspects believed to be part of the wider criminal syndicate behind the elaborate con.