Act decisively on fake money cartels
A video doing rounds on social media paints a picture of success but one that is worrying.
Four young men have “served” bands of Sh1,000 notes on plates and using forks and knives are pretending to be feeding on the currency.
Towards the end of the video, they reveal huge metal boxes full of the notes. The video is not dated but the revelation is suspect.
In the last one week, local detectives have burst a fake money printing syndicate and recovered more than Sh1.1 billion in counterfeit notes.
In a raid on Monday, apart from netting Sh320 million in fake currency, police also recovered 250 kilogrammes of fake gold nuggets, 70 suspected fake bars of gold, one-dollar photocopy machine, liquids, passports, among other paraphernalia.
The fake money was in different currencies and several suspects were apprehended and are being processed to appear in court.
Police say the racket involves foreigners, especially those from West Africa, and local fake gold dealers.
That more than Sh1 billion fake money was going to be laundered in the local market is distressful.
When dirty money is released to the economy, businesses and individuals suffer.
It is worth noting that the Sh1 billion haul netted in the past few days is a drop in the ocean.
Many such fake money printing cells exist and have often left devastating effects in their wake.
To add insult to injury, the revelation by police that fake gold scammers have morphed into dirty money dealers is worrisome.
These charlatans have in the past conned unsuspecting gold buyers of hundreds of millions of shillings and got away with it.
Not that there was no evidence but they are well-connected individuals with pockets deep enough to keep law enforcement agencies at bay.
These individuals are well known and some have the audacity to participate in politics and are seeking leadership positions.
They feel that after literally getting away with murder they are ready to lead various counties, constituencies and local assemblies.
It is time to crack down on the heads of these cartels once and for all. This small group can bring down a region’s economy and ruin lives in unimaginable ways.
Their accomplices in security agencies, politics and in courts should also be brought to book.
Why should we feign anger at their practices and fail to prosecute them?
It is time government demonstrated in word and deed that it is serious in ending this racket once and for all.
