A 42-year-old man has been arrested for impersonating a Firearms Licensing Board (FLB) officer and issuing fake firearm certificates to members of the public seeking to own guns.
In a statement on Monday, March 6, 2023, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said Dominic Ondari Ombogi was arrested at his home in Nguluni, Matungulu, Machakos county over the weekend following a court order obtained from Kahawa Law Courts, after intelligence reports placed him at the core of a dreadful syndicate that issues fake firearm certificates to non-vetted applicants.
During the raid, DCI said, the suspect was found to be in possession of assorted fake FLB documents and stamps.
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stamps at his Nguluni home in Matungulu, Machakos County.
Dominic Ondari Ombogi,42, was arrested last weekend following a court order obtained from Kahawa Law Courts, after intelligence reports placed him at the core of a dreadful syndicate that issued fake firearm certificates pic.twitter.com/VNtmv7rbeV— DCI KENYA (@DCI_Kenya) March 6, 2023
According to the Mohamed Amin-led directorate, Ondari has been battling accusations of stealing a firearm and making a document without authority at the Nairobi court and has been out on Ksh500,000 bond.
In the active case, the suspect is accused of hoodwinking a Kajiado youth into believing that he could transfer the certificate of his late father's firearm into his (the young man's) name, before subjecting the unsuspecting victim to endless paperwork that culminated in the theft of the firearm.
"Preliminary investigations reveal that Ondari, who poses as a well-connected resource person in the Board, has only operated in the underworld and never sat at the Firearms Licensing Board as he alleges," DCI said.
However, upon his arrest, assorted filled firearm application forms, psychiatrist reports from Mathari Referral Hospital bearing different names, a seal from the Central Firearms Bureau, various FLB and Armatech Kenya Ltd rubbers stamps, four civilian firearm certificates, forged letters allegedly from the Nairobi region police command and several bank statements were seized.
Detectives have established that jointly with others who personate officials in the board, Ondari targets vulnerable victims who are in haste to be cleared for the gun ownership, recklessly providing the fake certificates to anyone as long as good money changes hands.
"So strategic is Ondari that he even renews the certificates periodically at a cost of Sh6,000," DCI added.
Police were on Monday granted orders to hold the suspect until March 10, 2023, to allow the officers complete investigations into the fraud.
Police intend to charge Ondari with being in possession of implements of forgery and making documents without authority.
Meanwhile, the DCI has called on anyone who may have fallen victim to the fraud to present themselves to the Transnational Organized Crime Unit offices at DCI Headquarters Block B Room 47 to lodge their complaint.
