Nairobi — The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has cautioned land owners to beware of land cartels targeting their lands with a view to obtain hefty sums of money using forged documents.

According to the DCI, the cartel's main target are land owners in the upscale suburbs.

"To lower the risk of early detection and go whole hog with their fraudulence, the cartel's main targets are the land owners entering into joint ventures with developers," stated DCI.

In one recent incident involving a Pumwani-based resident, the victim could have lost his two parcels of land had a keen developer not sought the services of a thorough city advocate.

"However, the victim lost Ksh 553,550 to the cartel that posed as staff at the Nairobi County Lands Registry," DCI confirmed.

One suspect, Lawrence Ochieng, who approached the victim with a promise to get him certificates of lease for both parcels of land was arrested and arraigned at Milimani Law Courts on Monday.

This was after Ochieng's gang issued the victim with forged documents and obtained the stated amount of money.

The criminal enterprise sets in at a time when developers are approaching individuals with underdeveloped parcels of land, where the two parties agree on profitable terms for the development of the land.

"Occasionally, the agreement will require the land owner to obtain certificates of lease, which has become the soft spot for the fraudsters," said DCI.

Even as probe into this grand scheme continues, land owners are cautioned to ensure due diligence whenever dealing with any land-related matters, given the emotive nature of land issues that often trigger regrettable consequences.

Notably, most of the suspects implicated in the case are renowned gold scammers, who have taken a break from that field and are testing the waters on this illicit venture.

"Luckily, they have been identified and the DCI Operations team is hot on their heels," DCI reassured.