Thieves must have devised this trick to make their targets panic and send money.
Yesterday at about 3 pm I received a call from a colleague who works in Kisumu asking me to go to Railway police station as his younger Brother was being detained .He told me that a gentleman who identified himself as a police officer had called him telling him that his Brother is in custody for an offence he committed within the Nakuru CBD, the alleged crime was that his Bro was arrested for urinating in public and when asked to corporate for arrest he went violent injuring one of the officers.
On hearing that my friend panicked knowing how that would mean if indeed his younger Bro would be found guilty of the offence he pleaded for his brother's sake and promised to do anything.
The caller must have found my friend calbable answer therefore demanded that he sends them money, they told him they needed kshs 8000.
My friend had 3000 on his Mpesa and due to his freaking out he had within no time send the amount to the guys .To him he thought his Brother would be released but the caller demanded for the remaining 5000.
That is the moment he realized all is not well especially when he was unable to reach his brother's cellphone that it had remained switched off for the better part of the evening.
I quickly rushed to Railway Police station to check out on the boy and perhaps see what could be done to save him from languishing in police cells until the following day when he will be charged in court.
On my arrival I asked about the boy in the reception and after perusing through the Occurrence Book I couldn't trace his name, it is at that moment that the officer Manning the sentry communicated with his colleagues who where patrolling the the town .He asking them if they had arrested a boy as per my description and all his replies where negative.
That is when I became suspicious and called my friend asking him of the mobile number of the officer he had sent the money. Within no time we had his number and therefore called him.
"Helo Mkubwa mimi ni ndugu ya maabuzu mulie mkamata na naskia munataka ka kitu" I told the man on phone.
"Wewe uko wapi " he asked with a raspy voice.
"Niko hapa karibu round about karubu na fly over " I answered him.
"Sasa fanya hivi, ingia kwa Mpesa hapo na utume hiyo erufu tano, nikipata pesa nakawajilia huyu jamaa " he instructed me.
At this moment I knew they where not police officer and I had two fears to deal with, one is the possibility of the boy having been kidnapped and two the Boy either has been ransacked and wondering in the town.
"Na si munasema muko Railway Police, si nikije uko? " I asked the man.
"Hapana saa hii tuko njiani tunaenda central, unajua Railway hakuna mahali maabusu analala so harrakisha" he replied.
It was now evident that I was talking a to a corn artist and by the look of things this is something they have perfected.
I immediately called my colleague asking him not to send even one single shilling.I told him to wait until later in the evening if his Bro didn't call home then we will let the matter be handled by the Police.
By 7 pm yesterday the Boy had called home informing his Brother that he had arrived safe in College and he had lost his phone and some few items. That definitely completed the theory.
Friends from that incident it is true that the thieves and conmen use phones of their victims to get money from unsuspecting parents and guardians and I therefore advice anyone who may be exposed to an incident like this not to panic and send money. The best way to deal with it is to seek the intervention of the police.
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