Kenyan police arrest 77 Chinese nationals suspected of being spies.

Kenyan officials said on December 5 that police arrested 77 Chinese nationals suspected of espionage at a house in the capital Nairobi.

Kenya's Daily Nation, citing officials, reported that Kenyan police arrested Chinese nationals last weekend and confiscated equipment capable of hacking into government servers.

"Technology experts will tell us whether they committed espionage. These people appear to have been brought here on a 'special mission,' which we are investigating," said Ndegwa Muhoro, head of the Kenyan police's criminal investigation unit.

Kenyan police (photo: ITN)

The arrest took place on Sunday (November 30), when computer equipment in a luxury home rented by Chinese nationals near the United Nations headquarters and the US Embassy in Kenya caught fire, killing one person.

Police added that the suspects had mass-produced ATM cards, indicating their potential involvement in money laundering. Many of those arrested could not speak English, and some lacked identification documents.

The incident drew the attention of Kenyan authorities, as well as investigators, to whether the group was involved in espionage activities.

Kenya's Foreign Minister and Minister of Technology and Information and Communications both appeared after the incident. The Chinese ambassador to Kenya was also summoned for questioning.

Fred Matiang'l, an official from Kenya's Ministry of Technology and Information Communications, said that China has promised to send investigators to Kenya to shed light on the matter.

According to VOV