Authorities have arrested 29 people, including government officials and local leaders, in a large-scale operation targeting a network suspected of producing counterfeit documents.
The crackdown, which took place over the past week, was coordinated across Nairobi and several rural areas based on intelligence linking the suspects to serious fraud activities.
Among those detained are three chiefs believed to have been involved in forging citizenship papers. Police say the operation aimed to dismantle a gang whose actions had put individuals and the wider country at risk.
“Citizenship documents must be protected, and that is why we are determined to crack this gang,” said an official in the operation.
Officials revealed that a terror suspect had also acquired critical forged documents, and those who assisted him are still being pursued. Investigators said intelligence had identified several individuals responsible for producing fake documents, which were then presented as genuine.
The range of forged papers includes land title deeds, birth certificates, identification cards, and government letterheads. Some of these documents have caused serious financial losses, with institutions left holding loans based on fake papers.
“They have also defrauded unsuspecting Kenyans of millions of shillings. We are pursuing more suspects involved in the cases,” said one official aware of the investigations.
The 29 suspects are being held at various police stations as detectives prepare their arraignment. Investigators from multiple agencies are continuing inquiries to stop the syndicate before more harm occurs.
Police spokesman Michael Muchiri said the operation uncovered security officers who allegedly colluded with foreigners to enter the country illegally or avoided repatriating those declared unlawfully present by the courts.
“These people need to know what awaits them. It amounts to among other things, economic sabotage,” he said.
During the raids, officers destroyed numerous fake documents. In a separate case, a civil servant employed as an economist at the State Department for Cabinet Affairs was arrested in Ngoigwa, Thika West Sub-County, after forging a senior official’s signature for business purposes.
Police say he was moonlighting as a forger despite his government role.
The suspect allegedly delivered a fake letter to the National Police Service Commission listing “state-recommended candidates” for police recruitment.
Preliminary investigations show he had previously forged a letter promoting himself to director and transferring himself to the State Department for Housing.
When detectives approached him, he went off the grid, switching off all known phones, believing he had avoided capture. Police, however, managed to trace him and bring him into custody.
The case highlights the ongoing threat posed by document forgery networks operating within the country.
