The Lagos State Police Command says it arrested one Chimereze Chinedu for allegedly defrauding a Thai national to the tune of $216,000 and N30m respectively.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, in a statement made available on X.com on Tuesday, disclosed that the suspect allegedly promised to supply his victim with 37 tricycles which he valued at $216,000.
The suspect in a move to further extort money from his victim was said to have forged letters from the State Criminal Investigation Department to lure his victim into believing that the tricycles were seized by the police.
Hundeyin noted that Chinedu allegedly used the forged documents to obtain another sum of N30m from the victim purportedly to secure the release of the seized tricycles.
He said, “Chimereze defrauded his victim under the pretence of selling 37 tricycles to her. He further expanded his fraudulent activity by forging letters of the State Criminal Investigative Department, Lagos showing that the tricycles were seized by the police and further extorted N30m from the victim to purportedly secure the release of the tricycles.”
The PPRO noted that following weeks of investigation and a collaboration with officials of the International Criminal Police Organisation, “the suspect was arrested on May 10, 2024, in Enugu State.”
The police spokesperson noted that efforts were going on to apprehend other accomplices of the suspect while stressing the command’s commitment to combating internet fraud.
PUNCH Metro reported on Thursday that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission arrested 15 suspected Internet fraudsters in Zaria, Kaduna State.
A statement released by the anti-graft agency via X.com noted that the suspects were apprehended outside the premises of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, following credible intelligence linking a syndicate of fraudsters to suspected involvement in internet fraud.
Consequently, the EFCC operatives acted swiftly on the intelligence received, leading to the arrest of the suspects in the vicinity of the university. (Punch)