Frank De Tank, a Belgian national and TikTok star living in Kenya, has sparked outrage on social media following his arrest on drug trafficking charges.
He quickly amassed a large following of over 1 million followers while running a TikTok account under the name ‘Frank Murugi.’ However, following his arrest, his followers got to know the man behind the mask.
Frank, 42, flew to Kenya in 2017 and rented a house in Nairobi’s leafy suburbs of Milimani, where he lived with his 22-year-old girlfriend.
He then capitalized on his rising popularity among Kenyans and opened the channel. His videos quickly gained popularity, with the majority of them receiving over 2 million views, with the most recent receiving 15.5 million views as of yesterday.
His extravagant lifestyle, on the other hand, drew scrutiny from members of the public and police officers after he went on a spending spree, splurging money on supercars and high-end exotic resorts.
Frank’s true identity was revealed after he was deported back home last week after reports revealed he had been wanted for allegedly raising Ksh.452 million (€ 3.5 million) as drug trafficking proceeds.
Frank, a father of two, is said to be one of the prime suspects in one of Belgium’s most serious crime cases.
According to international media reports, Frank and his friend El Hajjioui Nordin were suspected leaders of a gang that trafficked over 2000 tons of cocaine in 2015 and 2016.
Nordin is said to have been sentenced in absentia to 40 years in prison, but has since fled to the United Arab Emirates, specifically Dubai. Belgian authorities have requested his extradition, but the UAE has denied the request.
Frank, who had previously worked as a dock worker at the Belgian port, was then arrested and questioned. Later, he agreed to work with the police to assist in the arrest of the trafficking syndicate.
He was released on bail and that was when he flew to Kenya in 2017. Further investigations led to his re-arrest.
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