But police halted their activities following a dramatic operation in which some gang members were arrested in Nairobi's Kilimani area on Wednesday.

Within the gang, was a man who masqueraded as a Lieutenant Colonel, the other posed as a Major and the third was supposed to be a military medical officer. They enrolled "brokers" to find young men wishing to join the military; they were not disappointed.

Brokers boasted

The brokers boasted of enjoying close relations with senior officers, saying that a Sh50,000 bribe would guarantee a slot in the much sought-after jobs.

Potential soldiers who fell for the trick were issued with fake clearance letters inviting them to start military training on August 26.

The documents bore fake Ministry of Defence letterheads, signatures of the three prime suspects and a forged rubber stamp showing it had been issued by the Armed Forces records office.

Detectives used a young man - whose identity we can't reveal for security reasons - as a decoy before the arrests.

Police arrested the gang in a dramatic operation outside a Total petrol station restaurant in the city's Hurligham area, near the military headquarters.

On Tuesday last week, the young man arrived at the DoD headquarters in the company of relative following instructions by a gang member by telephone. As he approached the heavily guarded gates on Lenana Road, he called the "military officer" as instructed. He had been warned against making enquiries from the military police officers at the gates.

Academic certificates

The "officer" instructed the young man to ignore the gate and use another. "As we walked, we met the man who introduced himself as a driver of the senior military officer. He took us to Silver Springs Hotel where he took my finger prints and copies of my national identity card and academic certificates," he told the Nation.

The "military driver" who was later arrested in the police operation, had demanded Sh50,000 before issuing a letter.

"I became suspicious and I asked for more time to travel to Naivasha to raise the money from relatives. But I reported the matter to officers at the Kilimani police station," he said.

Said the Kilimani CID officer Mark Mwara: "Immediately, we took up the matter. We coached the young man so that he could continue talking to the suspects without raising suspicion."

At the same time, the detectives monitored the calls as the gangsters spoke to the young man. On Wednesday, the decoy contacted the bogus military officer who agreed to meet him. "He said we could meet at the same hotel," he said.

But as undercover police prepared to go to the hotel, one gang member called the young man and changed the venue. "We had to sit and plan another strategy quickly," said an officer who took part in the operation.

What started at around 2pm took four hours, since the gang changed the venue four times. Minutes before 7pm, the "officers" instructed the young man to wait at the hotel. And the detectives, too, waited in separate tables masquerading as customers until a vehicle pulled up at the parking bay. A man believed to be the gang leader alighted, dialled his mobile phone and after a conversation, joined the young man at the table. And after three minutes, he led him into the car.

Seven minutes later, the young man alighted shoving an envelope into his pocket. It contained a letter "inviting" him to join "Recruit Training School (RTS) on Eldoret-Kitale road on August 26 before 2pm."

He had exchanged it for another envelope containing Sh25,000. But the bank notes had been "treated" to sustain evidence and the serial numbers marked.

The letter also showed that the young man had passed an interview to join the Army as a civil engineer technician.

Though the DoD had required applicants who attained not less than C-, as well as further training, the young man had attained a mean grade of D+ in KCSE, and had no additional skills.

But no sooner had the young man alighted from the car than police officers in plain clothes barricaded it. They identified themselves and ordered the suspects out of the car.

Beside the Sh25,000, they frisked the suspects and found another Sh50,000. Also recovered were signed documents that bore DoD letter heads.

The officers suspect many other Kenyans have parted with money and are waiting to be admitted for military training next month. Mr Mwara appealed to members of the public who could be holding such documents to report the matter to the police station.

The gang members had also been offering fake opportunities to people hoping to be employed at the Armed Forces Canteen Operations (Afco).