A 22-year-old man believed to be the mastermind behind the theft of Sh900,000 from a microfinance bank in Mombasa has been apprehended by detectives.
The suspect, Francis Mairura, was plucked out from his hideout in Nyamondo village, Gucha South in Kisii County, and is alleged to have executed a hi-tech swindle, which involved a breach of the Sacco’s IT systems, resulting in the siphoning of the cash to six M-Pesa accounts under his control.
According to a statement released by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Friday, the high-level fraud occurred on December 31st of last year, between 3:30 pm and 5 pm.
The suspect, who was being tracked by detectives from the DCI’s operations support unit, was found to have been oscillating between two houses, one in Witeithie Estate in Thika town, and the other in Gitambaya in Ruiru.
Upon realizing that he was being tracked by the police, the suspect fled to his rural home in Kisii county.
However, the detectives were able to trace him during a surprise raid on Friday morning.
A thorough search of the premises led to the recovery of 600,000 shillings, three mobile phones, and an HP laptop, all of which are suspected to have been used in the heist.
The suspect was subsequently transferred to Mombasa, where he will be processed and charged for his crimes.
While the police were able to recover a significant portion of the stolen funds, it is unclear at this time if the remaining Sh300,000 will be recovered.
This incident serves as a reminder of the need for heightened security measures to protect against cybercrime, particularly in the financial sector.
