Three teens arrested for staging fake kidnapping, demanding Sh6m ransom

Police in Imenti North, Meru County, have arrested three(3) teens who allegedly staged a fake kidnapping in the Kainginyo area before demanding a ransom of Sh6 million from the 'victim's' family.

In a classic case of misguided get-rich-quick mentality, the three 17-year-olds, two males and a female, are said to have faked the abduction of the girl and then called her parents with demands lest their daughter disappears forever.

On receiving information about a missing child on September 24, 2024, officers from Meru Police Station launched a manhunt in the area, reassuring the distraught family whose negotiations with the kidnappers and frantic search for their loved ones had proved fruitless.

Joining the investigation, detectives from Imenti North uncovered a sinister plot. The alleged victim, Jane (not her real name), had conspired with the two male accomplices to stage her own abduction in order to extort the hefty sum from her own family.

The group then made ransom demands to her parents, warning that their daughter would disappear for good if the hefty sum was not paid.

DCI in a statement said they trailed Jane and her accomplices and found them at their hideout in Kainginyo, where 20 rolls of marijuana were also discovered.

“As the family thanks the good heavens for the safety of their kin, she and her partners in crime are cooling heels at Igoji Police Station pending arraignment for conspiracy to defraud and being in possession of narcotics,” the DCI said.