CRIMES COMMISSION NABS FRAUD SYNDICATE

The Commission in a statement by its Spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, stated that it launched a manhunt on the suspects after receiving a petition from one Prof Godwin Ekhaguere who  alleged in the petition that the gang defrauded him of sums totalling N565,500,

Penpushing further reports that, Uwujaren said in the statement that, Ekhaguere, a Professor of Mathematics, who retired from the University of Ibadan added that the fraudsters made him to also part with MTN recharge vouchers worth N36,000 in the deal..

, The statement reads in parts; “According to him, he only realised that he had been scammed after he managed to reach his friends on the phone, who denied sending anyone to him. That prompted the petition’.

“It was in the course of investigating the allegations that the Commission arrested Bilewu at an ATM point where he went to cash the money sent to him by one Pastor Osuji. Incidentally, Osuji was also a victim of a crime similar to that which the Commission was investigating’.

“The gang’s patterns of operation are similar in nature. One of them would call their would-be victim with the impression that he was an old-time friend, now based abroad. He would claim that he has a mouth-watering gift to be sent through someone who is allegedly coming home for an event’.

‘The victim would then be handed over to the ‘home-bound’ member. He would be the one to make all sorts of requests ostensibly to clear some obstacles to delivering the consignments from the foreign-based ‘relation’ or ‘friend’, as the case may be. Investigations into the gang’s operations revealed that they have a mobile application used in making a local number appear foreign to the call recipient,”

Penpushing also reports that the statement further revealed that, the suspects make use of unregistered SIM cards to make their calls in order to blur out chances of tracing their real identities.

“Another trick to evade arrest, according to investigations, was to open bank accounts in other people’s names and take over the ATM cards from them. They direct their victims to pay into such accounts and use the ATM cards to withdraw the cash’.

“The suspects have owned up to the allegations against them, and are now helping the Commission in further investigations into crimes of similar nature” it reads.