Operatives of the Special Fraud
Unit, SFU, Milverton Road, Ikoyi, Lagos have arrested a 24-year-old man who posed
as a lady to defraud a United States of America couple of $42,497, purportedly
for the purchase of a property in Lagos.
The suspect, identified as
Olafinraye Adedamola, admitted the offence while being paraded yesterday.
He was said to have connived
with a Malaysian lady to defraud the couple. The Malaysian lady, according to
him, was his Facebook friend, adding that he had intended to use the
money to further his studies in a tertiary institution.
How he was arrested
Explaining how the artisan
who trained in aluminum works was arrested, spokesperson for the unit,
Ngozi Isintume-Agu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said: “An
intelligence report dated September 24, 2013 from Nigerian Financial
Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Abuja addressed to the Commissioner of Police,
Special Fraud Unit (SFU) alleged that one Olafinraye Adedamola opened a
USD Domiciliary Account No. 273/6980678251/0 with the Demurin, Ketu, Lagos
Branch of Sterling Bank Plc and through suspicious circumstances, cumulative
sum of USD 42,497 was paid into the account by unsuspecting victims abroad
between August 13, 2013 and September 16, 2013.
“The suspected illicit inflows
were followed by immediate cash withdrawals by the suspect who appeared to have
no known affiliation with the international depositors.
“SFU operatives swung into
action and investigation carried out on the domiciliary account revealed that
$18,129.92 is still left in the account and a lien was immediately placed on
the account.
“The suspect was traced to his
house at 7, Agidi Road, Oshogun, Alapere, Ketu, Lagos but he evaded police
arrest and his father, a proprietor of a moribund driving school, feigned
ignorance of his son’s whereabouts. However, the fleeing suspect was later
apprehended by the Police.
“Olafinraye Adedamola who posed
as a lady named Janet was born in 1989 in Kosofe LGA Ketu, Lagos.
“An artisan who trained in
construction of aluminum but currently a driving instructor in his father’s
moribund driving school located in Ketu, Lagos claimed he met a Nigerian at a
conference in Malaysia who introduced him to the victim who requested that he
purchased property for him in Nigeria which was the basis for the disbursement
of the money into his account and that he had already bought a building at
Ogba, Ikeja for N4 million and that the documents were with him.”
I intended to further my
studies with the money— Suspect
Adedamola who noted that this
was his first attempt, said he first met the couple on Facebook and in
the course of their discussion, booked for a meeting in Malaysia.
According to him; “I posed as
Janet on the Facebook, using a white woman’s photograph. I told the
couple that I was an estate manager and convinced them to buy property in
Lagos.
“Since they have not been to
Nigeria, they asked us to meet elsewhere and when I stumbled on a business
conference that was holding in Malasia, I booked the meeting.
“On reaching Malaysia, I told a Facebook
lady friend to pose as Janet after telling her what to say. That was how the
deal was struck and they paid the dollar equivalent of N3.4 million into my
account. I intended to use the money to further my studies because I am
determined to be a graduate. I used part of the money to travel again to
Malaysia for leisure in August.
“My regret is that I was caught
at the end because I used my genuine data to open the account. I guess it was
because it is my first time.”
The suspect, according to
Isintume-Agu, will be charged to court.
Culled
from Vanguard
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