The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested 148 Chinese, 40 Philipinos, two Kharzartans, one Pakistani and one Indonesian among suspects for a crypto fraud.
The anti-graft operatives also arrested 600 others in a raid on a seven-storey building believed to be a haven for the fraudsters. This house is on 7, Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island.
The suspects were arrested on December 10 over their alleged involvement in crypto fraud and other cybercrimes, commission’s spokesman Wilson Uwujaren told reporters in Lagos yesterday.
According to Uwujaren, 193 foreign cartels, including Chinese, Arabs, and Filipinos were nabbed when the operatives raided the hideout.
The building, located on a highbrow estate on Victoria Island, sources said, was occupied by foreign syndicate that fled Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), after Saudi police initiated a probe into their suspicious activities.
It was gathered that the kingpins, mainly Chinese mafias, equipped the entire property and recruited young tech savvy Nigerians to hack bank accounts and identities of wealthy individuals in different parts of the world.
Describing the suspects as members of a deadly syndicate of Crypto currency Investment Fraud and Romance Scam, he said that the suspects were arrested in a landmark operation in Lagos.
The EFCC spokesman said: “The suspects were apprehended in a surprise operation at their hideout, an imposing seven-storey edifice known as Big Leaf Building, on 7, Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
“The breakthrough followed actionable intelligence and months of surveillance and monitoring the activities of the syndicate.”
