By Adedapo Adesanya
Two suspects responsible for computer-related fraud, identity theft, cryptocurrency fraud, and obtaining money under false pretence have been successfully busted by the National Cybercrime Centre of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
The police cyber crime unit, headed by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Uche Ifeanyi Henry, revealed that the duo, Mr Odia Theophilus, aged 24, and Mr Ebo Junior Success, aged 25, ran a syndicate specialising in defrauding unsuspecting victims from foreign countries by assuming appealing identities of other persons and promising them romantic relationships, under the pretext of which they defraud their victims.
In the extant case, a report on their activities was received from Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency in Korea through the Interpol National Central Bureau in May 2021.
It was revealed that the suspects approached the victim, one Baek Seong-hee, a Korean national, via Kakaotalk, a mobile messaging application used majorly in South Korea, in the guise of being a member of the US Armed Forces stationed in Yemen.
According to the police, the suspects used the pretext of a romantic relationship and defrauded the victim of 259,637,941 Korean Won (KRW) worth of cryptocurrency, equivalent to about N91 million.
Subsequent investigations led the NPF-NCCC to their arrest at their hideout in Benin City, Edo State. The suspects confessed to being part of a syndicate responsible for these crimes.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mr Usman Alkali Baba, has lauded the efforts of Mr Henry in ensuring a clampdown on cybercrime-related offences.
The IGP similarly extolled the collaboration being enjoyed with other police agencies worldwide via the Interpol NCB platform stressing its importance in tackling transnational crimes.
The suspects will be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigations.
Aduragbemi Omiyale 
Modupe Gbadeyanka