When Belgian dockworker Frank Neleumrev stepped off a plane at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, few could have guessed he was running from one of Europe’s biggest drug scandals.
In Nairobi, he would soon be known simply as Frank Murugi. A white, muscled foreigner living large with a Kenyan woman half his size and age, by his side and millions at his disposal.
To TikTok, they looked like an unlikely love story.
To Belgian authorities, he was a fugitive.
Life Before Crime
Frank Murugi grew up in Antwerp, Belgium, and worked as a port handler at the busy Port of Antwerp.
Strong and into bodybuilding, he was good at the tough job of loading and unloading ships.
Still, money was tight. His salary barely supported his wife, Lisa, and their two kids.
Frank dreamed of more, fast cars, financial freedom, and spoiling his family.
The port didn’t give him that, but it did place him right at the heart of Europe’s main cocaine entry poi
Enter the Underworld
In 2015, Frank’s opportunity came. He was approached by Nordin El Hajjioui, a feared Belgian drug boss linked to the Moroccan mafia. The offer was simple: help move cocaine shipments offloaded at the port in exchange for a payday twelve times his monthly salary.
Frank agreed. He didn’t stop at being a courier; he built his own network of dockworkers to act as drug mules. Within a year, his crew had pushed an estimated 2,000 tonnes of cocaine through Antwerp, earning him more than KSh 400 million.
Overnight, Frank transformed. The humble port worker was suddenly seen in Ferraris, Audis, and Mercedes AMGs.
He changed cars as often as most people change clothes, projecting the image of a man who had made it. But such a lifestyle was impossible to hide because his official income didn’t match his lavish spending, drawing suspicion from investigators.
The Mistake That Changed Everything
Frank’s downfall began with a costly blunder. One of his associates disappeared with a shipment worth over €400,000 (KSh 56 million). For cartel boss Nordin, this wasn’t just bad business, it was betrayal.
Unable to repay the loss, Frank became a target. Gunmen attacked his home with Kalashnikov rifles and grenades, sending a chilling message. His terrified wife fled with their children, leaving Frank to face the fallout.
Realizing his life was on the line, he chose exile. His destination: Kenya.
Reinvention in Nairobi
Kenya offered Frank a fresh start, or so he thought. Flush with cash, he settled into a life of luxury and quickly fell into the orbit of Murugi, a young Kenyan woman more than two decades younger than him.
Their relationship shocked many. The age gap, the stark cultural contrast, and Frank’s rugged muscular appearance against his tiny petite beau’s.
But the couple ignored the noise, posting videos of their romance, cash gifts, and luxury outings on TikTok.
Murugi, who had endured a difficult past, embraced the attention.
For her, Frank symbolized a breakthrough and proof that her fortunes had changed.
For Frank, she was both a partner and, perhaps, a distraction from the violence he had fled.
The couple’s fame grew. They were called Kenya’s version of Vin Diesel and Lupita Nyong’o, a TikTok duo living unapologetically. They even married and welcomed a child together, cementing their image as an unconventional love story.
The Law Arrives
But fugitives rarely outrun justice forever. On February 16, 2022, Belgian police working with Kenyan authorities tracked Frank down in Nairobi.
He was arrested over his Antwerp cocaine operations and deported back to Belgium, where he faced a nine-year prison sentence.
For Murugi, the fairytale ended abruptly. After giving birth to their daughter, Frank, who had elevated Murugi into a new world of wealth and fame, broke up with her and was gone. To make matters worse, Frank later remarried in Belgium, to a woman named Rahma who bore an uncanny resemblance to Murugi. The two ladies even fought online over Frank Murugi.
But he clarified Murugi is his first wife and Rahma is his second.
Frank Murugi is proof one can run but cannot hide from the long arm of the law.
By Vivian K.
Hii story haimake sense , he was deported and sentenced to 9 years yet he married , and juzi siamekua Kenya and murugi got her second child