Kenyan police have arrested 77 Chinese nationals accused of running a cyber crime centre and being involved in money laundering.
The men are suspected of plotting to hack the communication systems in Kenya, local newspapers reported.
The activities of the Chinese men came to light on Sunday after a fire broke out in one of the houses that they lived in in Nairobi, in which one Chinese national was killed. One of the servers the men used for hacking reportedly burst and caused the fire, Director of CID Ndegwa Muhoro told Standard newspaper.
The Chinese nationals have been accused of indulging in 'high-tech espionage' and 'internet fraud', the newspaper said, and that they have been slapped with charges of 'being in the country illegally and operating radio equipment'.
They are also suspected to have been making ATM card microchips and using software capable of infiltrating bank accounts.
"The suspects are being interrogated to establish their mission in the country and what they wanted to do with the communication gadgets," Muhoro said.
Chinese ambassador to Kenya Liu Xianfa was summoned by the Kenyan foreign affairs ministry on Wednesday.
