Saturday, June 28, 2025 - The Airport Police Command in collaboration with other security agencies have arrested a suspected international fraudster, Abraham Akpojisheri, for possession of 783 MTN Sim cards.
The suspect was intercepted by eagle eye Aviation Security at
the local wing of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, 2 Ikeja, Lagos State
on June 24, 2025.
Akpojisheri, from Delta State, was billed to board a local
flight to Asaba the same day from MM2 before his arrest.
Police Public Relations Officer of the command, CSP Daramola
Kazeem, who disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, June 26 said the suspect
confessed to being part of an international syndicate involved in identity
theft and large-scale internet fraud.
The syndicate specialise in stealing people's identities and
pictures to create profiles online with the intent to defraud victims by
impersonation.
The suspect allegedly used Facebook to contact his victims
and had created multiple emails with different foreign names and numbers,
convincing victims to invest in forex trade.
According to Kazeem, investigation revealed that the suspect
bought the sim cards from South Africa for the purpose of hacking CARD EAS of
people's accounts across the globe.
Further investigation revealed that he has scammed ten (10)
victims from America alone out of tens of thousands of dollars.
"It was a synergy among inter agencies at work in the
Airport when one Abraham Akpojisheri 'm' aged 29 of Villa, Abraka Delta state
was arrested by eagle eye Aviation Security at the local wing of Murtala
Muhammed International Airport, 2 Ikeja Lagos on June 24, 2025 and was promptly
handed over to the airport police,” the statement read.
"The suspect who came into Nigeria through MMIA with TAG
Angola airline on 24/06/25 with Seven Hundred and Eighty-Three (783) MTN SIM
cards allegedly brought in from South Africa where he travelled to sometimes in
February, 2025, was billed to board local flight to Asaba same day from
MM2.
"The Airport Commissioner of Police, CP Olufunke Adeayo
Ogunbode mnips, PhD upon taking over the case directed a special unit savvy
with technology wherewithal to unravel the motive behind the suspect action for
having such number of SIM cards with him coming from abroad after the botched
boarding of flight to Asaba by Aviation Security (AVSEC).
"During investigation and upon presentation of unassailable facts as unearthed with technology by the assemblage of the newly invigorated team, the suspect confessed to belong to a syndicate of Internet and identity theft fraudster who specializes in stealing people's identities and pictures to create profiles online with intent to defraud their victims by impersonation.
"In his confessional statement, he stated that the 783 MTN SIM cards were bought in South Africa for the purpose of hacking CARD EAS of people's account across the globe.
"It was discovered that he uses Facebook as his means of
contact with his victims and has created about 7-8 different emails with
different foreign names and numbers telling his victims to invest on forex
trade and that he is a Forex trader.
"Findings revealed that he has scammed ten (10) victims
from America alone raking in tens of thousands of dollars.
"He said he did all these with collaboration of one of
his friends called Okiemute who is based in Ukraine and who also trained him
how to scam and hack people's accounts.
"Preliminary investigation has shown that he has
criminal conspiracy cells in Ukraine, South Africa and Nigeria.
“The suspect is billed to be arraigned in court upon
completion of investigation while effort is being intensified to arrest his
accomplices.”
CP Ogunbode commended the team for rejecting bribe offered by
the suspect to evade justice.
She assured that she will leave no stone unturned to see that
no crime will be allowed to go unpunished and admonished youths to abstain from
crime or better still stay away from airports nationwide to avoid been dealt
with by applying full weight of law on them when caught.
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