Embu police unearth con racket involving beggers

From left: A Tanzanian man and a woman said to be his wife together with people with disabilities suspected to have operated a racket on streets of major towns in Embu County to beg money from an oblivious public at Embu police station on November 12, 2015.

KENYA: Police in Embu have unearthed a racket involving a Tanzanian man and a woman said to be his wife who have been placing people with disabilities on streets of major towns to beg money.

Acting on a tip-off, police on Wednesday night arrested nine suspects in the con game and locked them up at Embu Police Station.

The nine included a man who was their organiser, six people with disabilities aged between 20 and 25 and two others who pushed the wheelchairs of those severely handicapped.

Embu West OCPD Francis Sang said they seized Sh3,844 from the suspects, mainly coins of various denominations and a few notes. He said the suspects confessed that they collect more money than that but they revealed business was low on that day due to rain.

"Some residents noted that the suspects would be moved from a hotel into a taxi every morning to strategic positions in the town to beg. They would then be driven back to the hotel in the evening. We did our investigations and we were able to arrest," Mr Sang said.

The police chief said the man they believed is their organiser was from Tanzania and had documents evidencing that, while the others also claimed to be of the country's origin.

He said they would be arraigned in court and charged accordingly once investigations were complete. Sang urged residents to report to police strangers they found suspicious since some may have sinister motives.