A Kenyan politician is among 12 men arrested in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, US, on Monday for allegedly soliciting sex from someone they believed to be underage. The arrests followed a multi-agency sting operation conducted by the Eden Prairie Police Department.
Abdullahi Yussuf Sheikh Nur, 46, who unsuccessfully contested a parliamentary seat in 2022, is one of those arrested.
The operation was part of a broader effort to combat trafficking and child exploitation along the Interstate 494 corridor. The men arrested range in age from 24 to 46 and reside across the Twin Cities metro area, with one individual coming from Wisconsin. The men believed they were arranging to pay for sex with an underage girl but were actually communicating with an undercover detective.
In a press release, the Eden Prairie Police stated they have conducted 38 sting operations around the Twin Cities in the past nine years. According to court documents, Nur contacted the undercover officer through an online advertisement. The officer informed him she was 17, but Nur continued communicating and arranged a meeting.
“The undercover police told Nur after he reached out that she was younger, almost 18, and that the ad would be taken down if she said she was 17. Nur continued to arrange to meet the undercover officer,” the court documents state.
The charges indicate that a confirmatory test was sent to the phone number used to communicate with the undercover officer, and the incriminating texts were found on all the men’s phones.
Nur was arrested at a golf course in possession of $250 in cash and a mobile phone. He has been charged with prostitution of a minor. Under Minnesota law, this felony charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
– By Anthony Mwangi
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