Police Bust Major Cybercrime Ring as Millions Linked to Online Scams

(The suspects. Photo credit: Police)

Nigeria Police Force arrested multiple suspected cybercriminals in different operations across the country.

The arrests highlight a wave of online fr@ud, romance scams and identity theft schemes.

Police arrested Abdulwajeed Abdullahi in Kano for operating as an online romance scammer using the name Captain Junaid.

He allegedly defrauded victims of N3.5 million and $1,500.

He contacted a woman on TikTok in June and moved the conversation to WhatsApp.

He developed a romantic relationship with her and convinced her to send intimate photos and videos.

By July, he demanded $3,000 and threatened to release her materials if she didn't pay.

Investigation found other victims.

Another woman lost N3.5 million to the same identity while a third victim from Bauchi paid $1,500 in what she thought was a foreign exchange trading deal.

Police found intimate photos and videos of multiple women on his devices, along with forged certificates and ID cards.

Abdullahi confessed he started the romance scam in January 2026 and used photographs of a Saudi pilot from Telegram groups for his fake persona.

Police also arrested David Temitope in Lagos for a sophisticated Business Email Compromise operation.

Forensic examination of his devices revealed more than 12.5 million victim email logs from over 50 countries including Canada, Germany, the US, India, France and the Netherlands.

He allegedly made over N100 million from the scheme using phishing kits from Telegram to compromise Microsoft 365 login credentials.

A Mercedes-Benz suspected to have been bought with crime proceeds was recovered.

Kelechi Sistus Ihekaire was arrested in Lagos over investment fr@ud.

His company Kestart Technology allegedly served as a money outlet for a WhatsApp-based stock trading scheme that defrauded victims of N56.29 million.

Investigation showed approximately N3.62 billion in suspected proceeds of crime was converted into Tether stablecoins through cryptocurrency transactions.

Police arrested Emeka Egba Anthony and Ogboji Solomon Emeka in Anambra for identity theft and computer fr@ud.

Anthony allegedly sold registered and unregistered SIM cards and created fake social media profiles using the identity of a UK woman to defraud people in India.

Ogboji dealt in pre-registered SIM cards that facilitated identity theft and cybercrime.

Babatunde Olamilekan Idowu was arrested in Ekiti for impersonating a senior police commissioner.

He and his gang members posed as top police and government officials to defraud a victim of N17 million.

Police urged the public to verify the identity of anyone claiming to be a police officer or government official and warned that cybercriminals would face prosecution.