Police arrested Jackson Mwangi Wambui, a notorious figure in a systematic land-grabbing cartel targeting elderly white residents in upscale Nairobi suburbs.

Mwangi was apprehended on Thursday at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Mazingira Complex premises.

The serial land fraudster, and his accomplice Elijah Macharia, were arrested during a daring attempt to influence a Land Fraud Investigations Unit (LFIU) officer to impede an ongoing investigation into their alleged attempt to grab a 0.2026-hectare parcel of land in Thome V area.

The audacious bribery attempt, seeking a two-month delay in the investigation, aimed at acquiring a "fake original" documentation of the land.

Little did the suspects know that their names had already gained some negative popularity with LFIU as some of the most notorious land fraudsters in the country.

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In December of last year, Mwangi's team, under his supervision, was ejected from the land located behind Roasters Hotel.

Investigations revealed that the land belonged to a deceased Kenyan, and his wife and two children were being threatened by Mwangi's cohorts.

Simultaneously, Mwangi faced another case involving land grabbing in Runda.

When asked to provide proof of ownership, Mwangi and his accomplice disappeared, resurfacing recently to meet with the investigating officer at DCI Headquarters.

Suspecting foul play, the officer arranged the meeting within his office, equipped with surveillance cameras.

During the meeting, Mwangi and Macharia requested a delay in the investigation, offering a bribe of Sh200,000.

"You can then take us to court any time in March. We will know how to handle it there," they requested.

Unbeknownst to them, the entire transaction was recorded, leading to their immediate arrest by DCI operations detectives.

The case file, containing appropriate charges, was forwarded to the ODPP in Kiambu for directions.

The ODPP directed the investigating officer to release the two on Sh200,000 cash bail for further scrutiny of the file.

Preliminary analysis by the DCI Online and Digital Platforms Unit revealed multiple cases of land fraud involving Jackson's cartel.

One notable case was the attempted grabbing of one Richard Hooper's Karen home in January, where Mwangi impersonated the Deputy OCS of Karen Police Station.

This case is currently pending at Ngong Law Courts.