A Defying Duo: The Artur Brothers

 

The Artur Brothers

Background

These brothers whose origin cannot be confirmed are known as Artur Sargaysan and Artur Margayan. They are said to be of Armenian descent (which cannot be confirmed), two troublesome duos who had ties to powerful people within the Kibaki government. Their true nature of business has never been known but what is clear is that Kenya wasn`t the first country to fall victim to this duo. Their methods could only rival or rather they took a page from the famous German burglar; Arsene Lupin. However, their presence in Kenya was coincidental with the drug burst of high-grade cocaine of 1 tonne at a port in Mombasa. 

The Drug Burst

Photo of the drug burst

After raids in Malindi and Nairobi in late 2004, police stumbled on 1 tonne of cocaine which had an approximate of 700 packets with an extra 300 packets found at a warehouse in Embakasi, Ganjuri area. A police officer by the name of Jarso Godana (retired) was appointed together with 4 other officers to investigate senior officers involved in clearing to transporting the drugs which were in a container that had been cleared through the port of Kilindini. They were able to come across port records that showed the movement of the container from Kilindini to In-Land deports. The records showed that the cleared containers allegedly had 3000 bags of rice. 

The Port records

This happened on 2 Jan 2005 when it was noted that the entry number at the port was 2903; the point of origin was Al-Ras Area (P.O. Box 1491, Deik - Dubai) which was to be cleared by Jamamu International Through West Wing as the agent. It was also noted that more than 18 containers had been cleared through the same entry number although only 6 containers had the authority to leave the port. What followed was an in-depth investigation that led the officers back to the warehouse in Embakasi where they were presented with fake documents. A further inquiry into the issue led to the arrest of officials including one of the senior police officers who was supervising this investigation. Standard Media Group termed it as ' .. the hunter becoming the hunted ..'. 

The Clean up

Jarso Godana

Following this revelation, former police Jarso Godana and 4 others who were part of the task force leading this investigation were relieved of their duties and transferred to a far-off post away from the case. There would be subsequent death of police officers who knew the location of the seized 1-tonne cocaine. An increase in international pressure on Kenya led to the government pushing for the drugs to be destroyed.

Their Entry Into Kenya

Raji Sanghani

Artur Margayan had been the first to arrive through JKIA on 10th Nov 2005 before leaving for London 5 days later. He had arrived from Dubai where a prominent pastor by the name of Kamlesh Pattni was at that time.  This was one of the mere connections made to the drug trade as the drugs seized were allegedly meant for the European market. It was as if he had arrived to assess the situation before leaving to assure the partners involved in the racketeer of his ability to get the job done. Mohammed Zakir Omar (business associate) together with Artur Sargsyan arrived from Dubai on 10th Nov 2005 according to one source and another source stated they arrived on 13th Dec 2005. The documents showing the movements of the Artur Brothers and their associates suspiciously went missing after their deportation which left the commission tasked with investigating this matter to believe that this may have not been the first time to visited the country. Their other associates were; Alexandar Pack (traveling with a Russian passport, arrived in Kenya on the 28th March 2006 and stayed until he was deported), Dimitri Tasci (traveling in a Moldovian passport arrived on 28th March 2005), Almar Mohammed Omar (traveling in an Indian passport arrived in Kenya on 28th March 2005) and Andrey Prilluskly (traveling in a Russian passport arrived in Kenya in 8th June 2006). 

Winfried Wangui Mwai

They had established connections within Kenya with a prominent individual who went by the name of Raji Sanghani ( real estate mogul). He was instrumental to the group of 6 where he showed them prospective houses to reside in. They reportedly settled in a wealthy neighborhood known as Runda. He publicly claimed that he had been introduced to the Artur Brothers by Mohammed Zakir Omar while in India where they displayed interest in investing in various sectors within Kenya namely; real estate, diamond business, and casino business. Another connection was Winfred Wangu Mwai (daughter of Mary Wambui Mwai, a political activist based in Nyeri, Kenya).

The attack along University Way

On 14th Jan 2006  2 police constables Ali Japan and David Gaitho (this were Presidential Escort Unit (PEU)) in a white Lexus KAQ010W were intercepted by a four-man gang. Two of the gangmen were armed with pistols which were used to commandeer the vehicle up to Madaraka Estate where they abandoned the two police officers. The gang-men were able to acquire a sis-saver pistol with 15 rounds and a Ceska with 15 rounds from the police constables. It was noted by the investigating committee that Mary Wambui Mwai had been seen using this car and the two PEU police constables were attached to her. The connection was made that this attack was staged as this vehicle would appear in many other crimes within the year and the two pistols were recovered at the residence of the Artur Brothers in June of the same year.

The Issuance of Work Permits

The work permits for the Artur Brothers and their associates were done in rather unusual circumstances as these permits were expedited showing preferential treatment which indicated the existence of a close connection to relevant bodies. The work permits were related to two companies that had been established on 18th Jan 2006 for the companies Kensington Holdings Ltd and Brother Lint International Ltd. As these were foreigners National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS) had the obligation to check through Interpol whether the said individuals had criminal records in conjunction with the principal Immigration Officer for General Index. The checks however came back clean and the group received their work permits. The aforementioned companies stated they had their main headquarters in Dubai. NSIS would later come to find out that this was not as stated. A further inquiry by the investigating committee discovered irregularities that had been overlooked by the relevant bodies such as missing forms and a declared amount of 8 million Kenya shillings not enough for objectives laid out by the companies which were importation and exportation of goods and real estate were among the few activities indicated. 

Car Records

They would go ahead to use these permits to import 7 containers which were reported to be assorted goods ranging from electronics to bedding. It was noted that 2 of the containers mysteriously disappeared en route to a warehouse in Nairobi. The truck drivers however informed security that they had been hijacked by 2 goons of asian descent and tracking of the vehicles showed that the goods had been offloaded at Alpha Center along Mombasa Rd. A deep dive into this incident showed that the vehicles were registered to a company associated with Raji Sanghani (their Kenyan connect).

Criminal Records

In mid-February 2006 as the Artur brothers were installing CCTV at the Grand Regency Hotel where they had been given residence by Kamlesh Pattni NSIS became suspicious and an investigation was launched on the two foreign nationals. It later came to the attention of the NSIS that the two had been deported back to Armenia in 1994 from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for attempting to bribe a customs officer. It was also noted that the two brothers had re-entered the UAE as Russian citizens using aliases. Artur Sargasyan alias ' Arthur Gevorkiyan and Artur Margayan alias 'Andrei Drilusky'. This duo did not establish any business in Dubai and were basically con men. An Interpol

report showed that Artur Margayan was an imposter using a stolen passport of an Armenian National and Artur Sargsyan had moved to UAE for permanent residence and was a wanted man back in Armenia.

The Attack on Standard Media

CCTV of the attack at Standard Group

On 2nd March 2006, the police raided the Standard Group offices in the I & M building along Kenyatta Avenue in Nairobi as well as its printing press along Likoni Road at around 12:00 a.m. The police were masked and wearing orange reflectors which had been branded Q.R.U standing for Quick Response Unit.  They confiscated material worth 81 million Ksh, assaulted Standard Group staff, and arrested several journalists. Evidence emerged that two of the alleged officers were of caucasian descent who were coordinating this attack. The confiscated property was taken to the residence of a woman only known as Shifana who resided in Runda. On 4th March 2006, the opposition leader Hon. Raila Odinga held a press conference claiming that the Armenian Brothers were mercenaries in the country whose sole purpose was to assassinate opposition leaders.

Photo of Shifana

This followed a statement by the then minister of interior John Michuki claiming that it was a government operation. In his words ".. when you rattle a snake, prepare to be beaten ..". The police commission leader at that time Hussein Ali had been away from the country on official business in Seychelles. The then-government spokesman Alfred Mutua denied having hired mercenaries to carry out the raid at Standard Group. The Standard Group also came out stating that the attack was to stop them from publishing sensitive stories about the then government and the First Family ( The Kenyatta Family). What could be established was that the raid had the backing of top government officials namely; John Michuki (the then minister of interior ), Stanely Murage (special advisor to the president on strategy), and Joseph Kamau (Former criminal investigations director). 

The JKIA Incidents

1. The Interview

On 12th March 2006, Artur Sargsyan and his brother Artur Margaryan allegedly flew back to Kenya. Their arrival was stage-managed as officials at JKIA were alerted that VIPs would arrive on KQ flight No. 3115 from Dubai. Mr. Bosire ( the then Security Supervisor, KAA (JKIA)) stated that 8 temporary passes were issued to the press as they awaited the press conference. He also stated that he was radioed and informed of the arrival of their guest and since they had missed their actual arrival they would use the VIP lounge for the press to cover the function. In this interview, the Artur Brothers claimed that the then-opposition leader Hon. Raila was inciting enmity between them and Kenya. One of the brothers even went ahead to say that Kenya`s budget wasn`t enough to hire them.  This had been facilitated by Ms Naomi Cidi (the then Deputy Managing Director, KAA). This was however a fallacy and breach of procedure.

2. The Fracas

On 8th June 2006, the Artur brothers tried to gain access to restricted places within the airport. JKIA security officials denied them access which resulted in the brothers drawing guns at them, refusing to be checked, and going in to pick up their unchecked luggage after which they left. A CID officer tried to intervene which resulted in a physical confrontation, however,  a police officer intervened and escorted the two foreigners to their vehicle and the gate was open for them to leave.

Deportation

On 9th June 2006 police raided the Artur brothers' residence and arrested the two. They recovered guns, passports, and company records which were entered into evidence. This was short-lived as the commissioner of police arranged travel permits for four individuals through the office of the Minister for Immigration & Registration of Persons. The two brothers requested to be deported to Dubai.

The Cover-up

The investigating committee noted that a labyrinthine of cover-ups of the activities of the Artur brothers were employed by legal, administrative as well as political fronts. This was because key Police witnesses refused to honor summoned and failed to cooperate with the police. The investigating committee came to the conclusion that the two Armenian brothers were conmen and drug traffickers who enjoyed protection from the high and mighty in the then-government

Their Public Admission to Various Crimes

Journalist: Mohammed Ali and Denis Origo; interview with Artur Margayan

Nearly 6 years after these incidents in a private interview with journalists from Standard Group (Mohammed Ali and Denis Origo) Artur Margayan would brag to the journalists that he was leading the raid claiming that he and his team had received intel that after that secret meeting between the then-President Mwai Kibaki and former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka Standard Group had acquired sensitive information that it wanted to publish. Artur Margayan confirmed that the raid had been carried out by the Q.P.R with members from the Kanga Squad (an elite police service unit). Artur Margayan told the journalist that they had come to Kenya following an invitation by Winnie Wangu Mwai and Mary Wambui Mwai. They allegedly held the meeting at the state house.  

Mr. Richard Nerima

A former driver (Mr. Nerim) of Raji Sanghani later told the Standard Group that several hours before the attack he had driven them to various shops in Nairobi where they were able to acquire the reflectors, monkey caps, and wireless radios from a shop along Kijabe St known as Afrisafe which they took to be branded to make it look like they were legitimate officers sent into the building. He later informed the Standard Group Journalist(interview done by Mohammed Ali and Denis Origo) that he was informed to drop off the Artur Brothers on the 5th floor at Twiga Towers (this was where Raji Sanghani`s Office was located). He also stated that the Artur Brothers, a lady Ms. Shifana, and their two bodyguards, had their photographs taken by Mr. George ( employee at the Scene of Crimes at the Investigations Department, Nairobi) at Twiga Towers where they were appointed as Deputy Commissioner to Police (the 3rd highest rank in the police service), Police Inspector and Police Corporals respectively by Joseph Kamau (Former criminal investigations director). This was instrumental to their earlier motive as these roles had access to case reviews in drug trafficking and homicides. Mr Nerima also stated that he had driven the Artur Brothers and their associates to the I & M building on 1st March 2006 at around 5:30 p.m. They were probably scouting the area as he was also instructed to enquire where Likoni Rd was within the city. He also stated that a white Lexus, KAQ010W chauffered Ms. Shifana and Artur Brothers to scout Likoni Rd (this car was attached to Mary Wangui Mwai). He concluded by saying that after the Standard Group raid, Mr. Sanghani called him and asked if he had heard about the incident where Mr. Sanghani strongly suggested keeping quiet about the issue as he put it ' ..it was carried out by those brothers of ours..'

Stanely Murage interview

In a phone interview, he said he had no contact with the Artur Brothers and had no authority to give them such a high-security status. He however suggested that such a security status would require interference from 'higher offices'.

Questions

1. What is the real identity of the two brothers? There`s no public record that can ascertain their names as Interpol said those aliases were forged from legitimate citizens who were residing in Armenia
2. What was their motive in Kenya? They were most likely hired mercenaries who facilitated the drug trade and cleaning up of government dirt.
3. Were they hired by the government? it was noted throughout the investigation that key top officials kept popping up so it is safe to say yes
4. Were the person of interest prosecuted? No, the government had the persons of interest mentioned suspended from office, and key police officers refused to honor summons by the investigating committee
5. Where are the 'Arturb brothers' now? A 2013 post traced them to the Maldives. Their reason for being there had not been established 
6. Are the Artur brothers allowed back in Kenya? A comment from one of the brothers in 2008 July stated that the Ministry of Immigration had lifted their ban on travel to Kenya provided they declared their business forthright.