Police nab 21 over cybercrime, uncover ₦7.7bn fraud

Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) have arrested 21 suspected cybercriminals over multiple fraud cases, including the alleged manipulation of MTN Nigeria’s billing system that caused an estimated ₦7.7 billion loss.

Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), CSP Anietie Iniedu, disclosed this while briefing journalists on major breakthroughs by the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC), Thursday evening in Abuja.

The Spokesperson said the MTN investigation began after the telecommunications company reported the unauthorised use of staff login credentials to manipulate its billing and payment systems; that the suspects fraudulently credited airtime to selected mobile numbers and converted it into data bundles distributed to more than 2,016 prepaid lines, resulting in estimated losses of ₦7.7 billion.

The FPRO added that MTN recovered 2,931.79 terabytes of stolen data valued at about ₦3.8 billion.

The police spokesperson said the NPF-NCCC also dismantled a suspected international cyber fraud syndicate in Asaba, Delta State, arresting six suspects accused of impersonating internationally recognised personalities to defraud foreign victims.

He said the operation followed intelligence provided by the National Crime Agency (NCA) through the British High Commission in Abuja.

CSP Iniedu further disclosed that the NPF-NCCC, in collaboration with the City of London Police under Operation Seraphim, arrested four suspects linked to a Telegram-based cybercrime network that allegedly stole and sold the personal and financial information of mainly United Kingdom citizens.

He said police Operatives also arrested three suspects over a fake online investment platform allegedly presented as being affiliated with the Nigerian Exchange Group and endorsed by Economist Yemi Kale.

According to the FPRO, the suspects defrauded investors of about ₦29.8 million, which investigators traced to cryptocurrency wallets linked to the alleged mastermind and his associates.

One suspect was also arrested for allegedly circulating a doctored video featuring social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse (VeryDarkMan) with manipulated audio falsely attributed to President Bola Tinubu.

Another suspect was arrested for allegedly posting a viral Facebook video claiming that nearly 1,000 Boko Haram members had been deployed to Abuja, a claim police described as false and capable of causing public panic.

The FPRO said nine principal suspects were at large, noting that investigations were ongoing to dismantle the remaining criminal networks and bring all those involved to justice.