A 38-year-old woman, Harriet Mary Wabwire, has been arrested by detectives from Kamukunji following her involvement in a high-level fraud scheme that left a Chinese national short of USD 101,000. (Sh13.4 million)

Wabwire allegedly masqueraded as the managing director of a company known as OTD Group Limited, claiming she could supply aluminium alloys.

As part of the con, she presented the victim with forged documents, including a fake bill of lading and a counterfeit certificate of conformity purportedly issued by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS).

The falsified documents indicated that over 23,800 kilograms of aluminium alloys were packed in a 40-foot container, ready for shipment from the Port of Mombasa to Ningbo, China.

After the victim wired USD 101,000 to Wabwire’s bank account, she reportedly went silent, switching off her phone and disappearing.

However, investigators, relying on forensic evidence, managed to trace her to a hiding place in Tassia, Nairobi, where she was apprehended.

Wabwire is currently in custody as preparations are underway for her to be arraigned in court.