Four men have been arrested in Thika for conspiracy to defraud a manufacturing company through forged Local Purchase Orders (LPOs) for goods amounting to KES3.25 million.

The four Haron Mwangi Ndungu, James Nyaga Munyutha, Philip Njenga, and Paul Ngugi, were caught en route to Bidco in yet another attempt to secure goods worth KES1,770,740 through forged LPOs.

According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the four were operating using counterfeit LPOs featuring the letterhead of another manufacturer, Chandaria Ltd, to orchestrate their scam, that if successful, would have seen them make away with tonnes of Bidco products.

DCI said the criminals had on two separate occasions earlier managed to successfully cart away goods from Bidco under similar falsification of LPOs. 

"Detectives caught the suspects red-handed, led by Haron Mwangi Ndungu, who was at the wheel of their getaway vehicle, an Isuzu lorry registration number KDB 249Z, white in colour. On board were his accomplices, James Nyaga Munyutha, Philip Njenga, and Paul Ngugi, en route to Bidco once again, armed with another forged LPO, aiming to secure goods worth Sh1,770,740," the DCI tweeted.

All four fraudsters were promptly arrested and are currently in custody, undergoing processing pending arraignment. Meanwhile, the impounded lorry has been detained as exhibit, DCI added.

Started in 1985 as a soap manufacturing plant in Nairobi, Bidco Africa has emerged as one of East Africa's biggest manufacturer of Fast Moving Consumer Goods, including edible oils, soaps, detergents, margarine, beverages and various food brands. The firm has its main plant in Thika town, Kiambu County.

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