Three Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) students who were arrested in connection to electronic fraud syndicate have been detained for five days by a Thika court to enable police to complete investigations
Thika Senior Principal Magistrate Benmark Ekhumbi ordered that George Gichuhi, Boniface Kang’ethe and Erick Kamau remain in custody until Monday next week.
The trio was arrested with more than 100 SIM cards, 8 Nationals Identity Cards, storage devices, two laptops and four mobile phones on Friday last week.
The investigating officer Peter Kabairu said more time was needed since the evidence to be relied on during trial is bulky and requires a forensic analysis.
He said the suspects may have committed crimes alongside others who are yet to be apprehended and thus there was a need to allow for more time to complete investigations.
The prosecution informed the court that detectives have extended investigations to the registrar of the person’s office and a mobile phone service provider under which the sim cards in possession of the suspects were registered.
The suspects pleaded with the court not to detain them on grounds that they are about to sit for their semester exams.
They were arrested after a tip-off from members of the public on suspicious motives at their house adjacent to the university’s Gate ‘C’.
Juja DCI Richard Mwaura told journalists that the electronic devices are believed to have been used to commission criminal activities.
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