Bahati Holela Ismael was detained, while Ruth Chemutai Tegei and Dolphine Chegata Chemos were released on bail.
The three were presented to the court, where the police sought orders to detain them for 10 days to conclude investigations.
The three were arrested on 31st July 2025 at the PDL Complex go down located at City Cabannas along Mombasa Road.
They were presented before Magistrate Lucas Nyina of the Milimani Law Court.
According to an affidavit by Corporal Peter Mwangi, a report was made by members of the public to DCI Embakasi that there were suspicious vehicles with occupants who had spent the entire day within the go-down.
The police responded and found a group of 11 men and two women.
Upon inquiry, the officers found out that eight of the men were providing security for two foreign nationals, Mohamed Hassan Dahir and Rateb Mahmoud Ali, who were Canadian and Syrian nationals.
At the scene, the officers also discovered 30 wooden and 12 metallic boxes similar to those used to transport goods
“The boxes were later processed and found to be empty even though they were wrapped and sealed as if they were loaded,” Corporal Mwangi said.
The court heard that the respondents purported to be workers in the said go-down, but they could not disclose who their employer was, nor the type of business carried out at the go-down.
It is alleged that some exhibits found at the scene include seals, wrapping papers, and an invoice.
This exhibit, according to police, indicated that there was a fake gold transaction going on, but it was disrupted by the officers’ quick response.
For the above reasons, the DCI wanted the three detained for 10 days to conclude investigations, including establishing the nationality of the 1st respondent (Ismael).
The police also said they needed time to extract evidence from the gadgets recovered from the respondents.
However, the magistrate ruled that only Ismael was a flight risk since he was the only one who did not have any identification document or a fixed place of abode.
“Only the first respondent is a flight risk. The other two have known abode and nationality,” the magistrate ruled.
The magistrate ordered Ismael to be detained for 10 days while Tegei and Chemos were released on a cash bail of Sh 50,000 plus one contact person each pending the conclusion of investigations.
The case will be mentioned on 14th August 2025.
