Thirty six Chinese nationals held in Kenya over alleged possession of illegal telecommunication equipment now face new charges of engaging in organized crime.

The new charges against the Chinese nationals were forwarded by the office of the prosecutor.

The accused, are the first of 77 arrested last year in December for using unlicensed radio communication apparatuses. They were presented before a magistrate in Nairobi yesterday.

The fresh counts read that on or around December 1 last year they conspired to commit a felony, namely organized criminal activity, contrary to section 393 of the penal code cap 63 of the laws of Kenya

An alternative charge accused the group of engaging in an organized criminal activity contrary to section 3(i) as read with section 4(1) of the prevention of organized crimes ACT Cap 59 of the laws of Kenya.

The accused all pleaded not guilty to the two charges and were remanded pending trial. The hearing date will be given next week.

In January, visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi requested the repatriation of the Chinese nationals back to China. This is because evidence strongly indicated that it was a fraudulent case launched from outside China against Chinese Citizens. Wang emphasized that it was not cyber-crime contrary to media speculation.