DAILY TRUST
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it has carried out its largest single-day operation against cryptocurrency and romance scam networks, arresting 193 foreigners and 599 Nigerian suspects in Lagos.
The commission’s spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, disclosed this to journalists in Lagos yesterday.
Uwujaren said among the 193 foreigners are Chinese, Arabs and Filipinos, whom he said were nabbed when the commission’s operatives bursted the gang in a landmark operation in Lagos on December 10.
He said the suspects included 114 Chinese nationals, 40 Filipinos, two Kazakhstans, one Pakistani and one Indonesian.
He stated that they were members of a syndicate of cybercrime and cryptocurrency investment fraudsters.
“The suspects were apprehended in a surprise operation at their hideout, an imposing seven-storey edifice known as Big Leaf Building.
“The breakthrough followed actionable intelligence and months of surveillance and monitoring of the activities of the syndicate.
“Investigation established that the foreign nationals used the facility at 7, Oyin Jolayemi Street, which could be mistaken for a corporate headquarters of a financial establishment to train their Nigerian accomplices on how to initiate romance and investment scams and also use the identities of Nigerians to perpetrate their criminal activities.
“All the floors are equipped with high-end desktop computers. On the 5th floor alone, investigators recovered 500 SIM cards of local telcos that were bought for criminal purposes.
“Their Nigerian accomplices were recruited by the foreign kingpins to prospect for victims online through phishing, targeting mostly Americans, Canadians, Mexicans and several others from European countries.
“They usually arm them with desktop computers and mobile devices and create fake profiles for them.
“The Nigerian accomplices are equally provided with logs that allow them access to foreign communication lines and victims, who they chat with on WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram.
“They are also assigned WhatsApp accounts linked to foreign telephone numbers, especially from Germany and Italy.
“Their jobs are to engage victims in romantic conversations and phantom business and investment discussions to trick them into shopping on the purported online investment shopping platform called www.yooto.com. For those who show interest, activation fees for an account on the platform starts from $35,” Uwujaren said.
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