Police in Lagos State have arrested a suspect, Chimereze Chinedu, for allegedly defrauding a citizen of Thailand of $216,000 (₦317,725,271) and ₦30 million.
Police spokesman in the state, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the arrest in a post he shared on his X (formerly Twitter) handle @benHundeyin on Tuesday. He said that the suspect was arrested by detectives of the State Criminal Investigative Department (SCID).
“Chinedu defrauded his victim under the pretense of selling 37 tricycles to her.
“He further expanded his fraudulent activity by forging letters of SCID, Lagos, showing that the tricycles were seized by the police and further extorted ₦30 million from the victim to purportedly secure the release of the tricycles,” he said.
The image maker said that the suspect was arrested on May 10 in Enugu State following weeks of diligent investigation and technical support from the International Criminal Police Organisation, (INTERPOL).
The spokesman said that the suspect was currently in detention, as investigations continued to uncover details towards identifying and apprehending his accomplices. According to Hundeyin, the Lagos State Command remains steadfast in its commitment to combating internet fraud and ensuring that perpetrators are brought to justice.