Narrow escape for bogus lottery gang

NYAHURURU KOINANGE ROAD GETS UNWELCOME NEW COMERS

BY KELVIN WANJOHI

Wananchi crowd round a private van in Nyahururu’sKoinange Road. A gang of young men and women claiming to be staffers with a bogus lottery company are said to have conned locals of huge sums of money over a long period.  PHOTO/ KELVIN WANJOHI.

 

Members of the public were treated to a daylight drama on Thursday, June 30 when a well dressed and sweet-talking gang of youths was almost lynched by an irate mob on Nyahururu’s Koinange road after allegedly conning a number of unsuspecting members of the public, with allegations that they are agents of an International phone making company, Nokia.

    The young conmen and women, who were first approaching  victims with broad smiles purportedly to conceal their character, were apprehended when a victim of their con game raised alarm after being conned Sh. 300 on grounds that he could win a Nokia cell phone, the company’s branded T-Shirt and other fabulous prizes

    Passers-by responded to the alarm and descended on the more than 10-member group and a confrontation ensued.

   The crowd increased and overpowered them, forcing the group to hurriedly board a staff van and sped off to an unknown destination, leaving victims and the public counting their losses and gasping for breath after losing the gang that had been conning for months.

   Victims narrated to The Home News how they had been conned, saying that they had at first been asked if they possessed a Nokia cell phone.

 If one possessed such a phone, they would convince one to walk to their van waiting nearby to receive the prizes.

    Once at the ‘staff van’, a victim was given a  scratch card to reveal ‘a  lucky number’ in order to win the so called prizes, but not after parting with Sh. 300.

    They claimed that most of them ended up losing by revealing an un-matching number, and upon requesting to have their money refunded, the ‘smart’ guys could tell them that every lottery has its own rules and regulations, hence they can’t give back the cash.

   “If a person won, he would be given a worthless item.

Victims have tried in vain to seek assistance from the police but alleged that none of their cases has ever been responded to.

    It was suspected that some Nyahururu municipal workers who collect fees and charges were corraborators with the con outfit.

   “How else can you explain the existence of such racketeers who have been operating on this street for several months now, in the full glare of the hawk-eyed council employees who hear public outcry but act deaf?” wondered a trader,  who said he had witnessed many people falling victims to the gang.

Nyahururu mayor, Peter Thiari, said that he had directed that investigations be carried out to establish how the crooks had landed in the town and whether they had licence from the Betting Control Board to operate a lottery.