Grace Omachoko
The Nigeria Police Force in collaboration with National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) have discovered and disassembled a sophisticated cybercrime syndicate operating a recruitment and mentoring hub in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
A statement published on Wednesday by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, noted that the operation led to the arrest of at least six suspects.
The Force spokesman said the operation was initiated in response to series of intelligence reports that indicated a deep involvement of the syndicate in various cybercrimes, including business email compromise, romance scams, and high-yield investment programme fraud in the territory.
He noted that upon receiving the intelligence, a team of cybercrime forensic experts and investigators were thorough on the case leading to the arrest of the suspects at their hideout in the Dantata Estate area of the capital city.
Adejobi revealed that several digital gadgets and effects used in perpetrating their criminal enterprise were recovered by the security operatives.
According to the statement, “The suspects, namely Bernard Joseph, 27, Emmanuel Joseph, 22, Obasi Ikechukwu, 19, Anijiofor Tobechuckwu, 26, Andrew Moses, 19, and Israel Ezekiel, 19, summarily confessed to their various degrees of involvement in cybercrimes, including identity theft, hacking and trading of hacked Facebook accounts, romance scams, and computer-related forgery.
“A pertinent investigation is ongoing, and efforts to apprehend the fleeing members of this criminal network are underway. Meanwhile, the arrested suspects will be charged in court upon the conclusion of the investigation.”
