News Investigators/ The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) operatives have arrested six suspects over computer related frauds, money laundering, criminal conspiracy, armed robbery and other criminal offences.
The Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of NPF-NCCC, Akaninyene Ezima said this at news conference in Abuja on Wednesday.
Mr Ezima said the arrest of the suspects was in line with the vision of the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu to ensure a safe and secured environment for economic growth and public safety.
He also said that the NPF-NCCC remained committed to disrupting criminal networks, strengthening investigative and digital forensic capabilities, and protecting Nigeria’s financial and digital ecosystem.
The AIG explained that two of the suspects were arrested over criminal conspiracy, stealing and money laundering.
According to him, the arrest followed a petition received by the I-G on Aug. 13 from a payment services platform against Ecovista Industries PVT Limited and others.
He said the petitioner alleged the diversion of approximately N6.2 billion from the Treasury Single Account of a financial institution.
“Preliminary investigation indicates that the transactions occurred in connection with a configuration vulnerability during the migration of the financial institution profile from the Public-Sector API to the Private-Sector API.
“Investigation also revealed failed earlier transfer attempts valued at approximately N84.39 billion before the successful transactions were processed.
“A total of 761 payments amounting to approximately N6.174 billion were traced to 105 beneficiaries across 19 banks,” he said.
Mr Ezima said the investigators also identified transactions presented as refunds to customers of Ecovista Industries, after which some recipients were allegedly directed to transfer the funds into alternative accounts linked to the company.
According to him, two Indian nationals connected to the company have been arrested and are assisting the investigation.
He also said efforts were ongoing to locate another Indian national that was of interest in the case, but currently at large.
He added that the idea was to determine the circumstances surrounding the exploitation of the vulnerability, trace the movement of the funds and recover proceeds of the alleged crime.
The AIG said NPF-NCCC was also engaging relevant stakeholders and international partners as part of the ongoing investigation.
In a related development, Mr Ezima said two other suspects were arrested over computer related fraud, criminal conspiracy, unlawful access and armed robbery.
He said the complainants on June 19, at about 6;30 am, while undertaking their routine morning exercise around Grey Lodge, Garki II, Abuja, were attacked by two-armed assailants on a motorcycle.
According to him, during the attack, one of the complainants sustained injuries, while a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 and an iPhone 17 Pro Max were stolen.
“Subsequently, the perpetrators allegedly gained unauthorised access to the victim’s electronic banking platforms and converted 950 U.S dollars from her Domiciliary account.
“Another N1,292,000 was transferred from her Naira account to various beneficiary accounts while an additional N50,000 worth of airtime was purchased from the account.
“Through digital forensic analysis and intelligence-led investigation, operatives of the NPF-NCCC traced the movement of the funds and arrested two suspects.”
The AIG said one of the suspects was arrested in Kano in connection with the airtime purchased from the victim’s account.
He said the second suspect was arrested in Keffi, Nasarawa State, in connection with proceeds from the sale of the recharge cards.
According to him, further investigation revealed multiple bank accounts linked to different Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) and National Identification Numbers (NINs).
He said mobile phones, NIN cards, Corporate Affairs Commission documents, a 2010 Toyota Corolla, several ATM cards bearing different names, seven Point-of-Sale terminals and a firearm were recovered from the suspects.
Mr Ezima further said that five suspects were also arrested over criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, stealing and fraudulent conversion.
He said the suspects were arrested following a petition received by the I-G on June 19, through Mmuoka and Associates and subsequently referred to NPF-NCCC for investigation.
He said the complainant alleged that he engaged the services of a Logistics company for the shipment of mobile devices purchased from suppliers in Dubai.
According to him, the consignments comprises of 222 iPhones and 15 smart watches, with the total value of the goods and associated logistics put at approximately 144,440 U.S dollars.
“Upon receiving the consignment on June 11, the complainant discovered that the mobile devices had allegedly been removed and substituted with newspapers and chargers.
“Preliminary investigation indicates that a Pakistani national associated with the logistics company allegedly absconded with the devices.
“Through intelligence-led investigation and forensic analysis, operatives of the NPF-NCCC traced some of the devices to persons in Nigeria.
“Two persons were arrested in Ibadan, and Lagos, while four of the suspected devices were recovered,” youhe said.
He said further investigation led to the arrest of three other suspects in Kano State, with another two devices recovered.
According to him, preliminary findings indicate that some of the suspects allegedly purchased the devices through a dealer in Dubai.
He said investigation was ongoing to trace and recover the remaining devices, establish the roles of all persons connected to the transaction, and apprehend other suspects, involved in the case.
NAN
