How Chinese sex trade ring was busted in Nairobi

The arrest of 12 Chinese nationals believed to be engaged in prostitution at a brothel in South C estate in Nairobi followed an intelligence tip-off and independent investigations, the Immigration Department has said.

In a statement, Director of Immigration Services Alexander Muteshi said the 12 – eight girls and four men – were arrested by officers from the department and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations during a 5 am raid at two houses that targeted wanted fugitives, human traffickers and other immigration violators. The two houses are suspected to have been operating as brothels.

Muteshi revealed that one of the arrested men was watch-listed in May last year on suspicion of being involved in prostitution and illegal gambling. He was later deported and banned from ever entering Kenya but managed to return using a different passport.

“The 12 have been documented as prohibited immigrants and are being processed for deportation for not only violating our immigration laws but also breaching the fundamental standards of integrity with regard to working and doing business in Kenya,” he said.

In a separate swoop, 10 Ugandans who were being trafficked to the Middle East by a Kenyan national were arrested in Uhuru estate. Muteshi said the trafficker will be arraigned in court in the soonest time possible.

He said the government’s resolve to weed out criminal aliens from the country and streamline immigration systems is as strong as ever.

“We would like to thank members of the public who have been cooperative hitherto in this respect. We appreciate the role that foreign investors are playing in our economic development, but we maintain that it is possible to benefit from transparent business practices in our country,” he said.

He asked foreign investors and locals willing to venture into legitimate economic activities to follow the due processes and obtain the requisite documents before setting up their business enterprises in the country.

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Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i ordered a crackdown on foreigners living or working in Kenya illegally following the conclusion of a work permit verification exercise.

The Immigration Department last month unveiled a hotline, 0745-660-151 for members of the public to report illegal aliens.