A female police officer who posed as a commercial sex worker successfully lured a suspected ringleader of an organised criminal gang in Muranga County into a trap leading to his arrest

The suspect identified as John Ngugi Maina has been accused of being the de facto leader of the criminal outfit known as Jeshi ya Gaica that terrorises residents of Maragua Town and its environs.

Murang’a South Police Commander Alexander Shikondi confirmed Maina’s arrest.

According to Shikondi, Maina has been elusive for the past month and they had reports about his sightings in commercial sex dens within the town.

“For one month, this man remained elusive, our officers getting intelligence that he was being seen in sex workers’ dens in town, but every time we showed up, he would be gone,” Shikondi said.

Witnesses said Maina would be spotted on a motorbike picking random ladies and later dropping them back at intervals.

Maina was initially arrested on April 21, 2022, on illicit brew-related charges and was released on a Sh30,000 bond by a Kigumo Court.

After Maina was granted a pre-trial bond and was directed to appear for the mention of his case on July 06, 2022, he absconded, prompting the court to issue his arrest warrant.

The court also ordered Maragua Police Station to ensure Maina was brought to book by September 5, 2022, and arraigned in court.

Police used Maina’s weakness to their advantage and set a trap for him in the form of a female officer attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) who posed as a commercial sex worker.

Armed with Maina’s mobile phone number, the officer contacted Maina and introduced herself as an acquaintance he had met in Kenol Town.

At first, Maina was hesitant, but his greed and weakness got the better of him and he showed up within 20 minutes at a rendezvous in the town albeit cautious.

“We were following the conversation and though he first hesitated, the womanising weakness in him made him drop his guard and he [agreed] to show up in town for a meeting, warning that he would not be staying long,” Shikondi said.

The allure of the female DCI officer was too strong for Maina to resist and he completely dropped his guard as he became at ease with his new ‘companion’ to the point of parking his motorbike and offering a 'treat' at a nearby pub.

After a couple of drinks, three more officers arrived at the bar and immediately apprehended Maina.

“He forgot that he was a fugitive … he led ‘his’ woman into a nearby bar and ordered … They were on their second drink each when three officers showed up and cuffed him,” Shikondi said.

Currently, Maina is in police custody waiting to be arraigned in Kigumo Court.