By Spy Uganda Correspondent
Kenyan authorities have seized fake gold bars from a room belonging to the Swissport transit freight station, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
The fake gold bars concealed in 31 boxes that are said to have been received from Uganda, had been stored at the airport by shadowy businessmen.
The businessmen were dealing in the lucrative gold business on the pretext that it was cargo awaiting transit to different destinations across the world.
The authorities said the phoney traders settled on Swissport freight, since it provides ground and cargo handling services in major airports across the globe, to store their fake consignments so as to avoid detection by detectives.
In a clever gold scam that has seen businessmen from across the world lose hundreds of millions of shillings, the cons have been luring unsuspecting investors to view the gold at the customs offices at JKIA, the region’s preferred international aviation hub.
“Once at the airport, a prospective buyer is lured to Swissport’s strong room, where what appears to be genuine gold bars are displayed. The client is advised that once the transaction is completed, the gold will be shipped to any destination of his choice across the globe,” said Kenyan authorities.
However, immediately the buyer is convinced that the transaction is above board and makes payments including customs and shipping costs.
In one such deal gone sour, a businessman lost over Sh34 million to the tricksters who immediately went underground after they received the payments.
