DCI Busts Suspected Sexual Exploitation Networks in Ongata Rongai and Kiserian

Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) rescued 48 women during coordinated raids in Ongata Rongai and Kiserian on Thursday night, dismantling two suspected sexual exploitation operations and arresting several suspects.

In Ongata Rongai’s Rimpa area, detectives raided a residential property after receiving information from members of the public. Officers found 30 women aged between 19 and 27, together with laptops fitted with cameras and other equipment believed to have been used to produce explicit material. 

Several suspects were arrested and taken to Ongata Rongai Police Station, where they remain in custody awaiting arraignment. Police said the property had been operating as a centre for the commercial production of obscene content.

In neighbouring Kiserian, detectives rescued 18 women who were allegedly lured with promises of domestic work. Investigators said the women were instead sexually exploited and forced into commercial sex activities. Officers seized mobile phones, laptops and other items linked to the suspected offences. 

Detectives are continuing efforts to locate the alleged organiser of the operation. The rescued women have been placed under police protection while arrangements are made to provide safe accommodation, medical treatment and psychosocial support.

The raids follow a similar operation in Embakasi East earlier this week, where detectives rescued five women from a suspected online exploitation network. The cases point to the growing use of technology by criminal groups to exploit vulnerable women, often through false offers of employment.

The DCI said investigations are continuing as detectives work to identify more suspects and establish the full extent of the networks. In a statement, the agency said detectives had intensified operations in Kiserian and Ongata Rongai after uncovering organised groups targeting young women, adding that efforts to dismantle the networks would continue.