19 Nigerians among 22 held in online scam probe

BY EMMANUEL SANTA MARIA CHIN

Thursday October 29, 2015
07:22 AM GMT+8
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Syndicate members strike up friendships with their prospective victims through

these initial questions on Facebook. Malay Mail pic
PETALING JAYA, Oct 29 Twenty-two people,

including 18 Nigerian men and a Nigerian woman, have been arrested following a
10-month investigation into an African online scam.
The investigation resulted from a report lodged by a nurse who fell prey to the
syndicate.

Following the arrests, that included a Malaysian man, a Malaysian woman and a
Thai woman, police are conducting a major probe to find out the exact number of
victims and losses incurred.
Cheras police chief ACP Chong Kok Sin said police set their sights on the
syndicate after the 50-year-old nurse reported in December last year she was
duped into investing in a bogus oil rig project.
The victim befriended a person on Facebook in June 2014, who persuaded her to
open two bank accounts under the names of a man and woman he provided, for
a project in Sarawak, he said.
The nurse made seven payments totalling RM18,400 into the two accounts over
a period of six months.
The victim decided to lodge a police report when she suspected something
amiss after being constantly harassed into making the deposits, Chong said.
The Facebook friend kept changing his story about the oil rig project which
further raised the victims doubts.
On June 6, a police team that had been tracking down the two account holders
received a tip-off on the whereabouts of one of them.
The suspect a Malaysian man was picked up in Port Klang and remanded for
14 days before being released on police bail.
Information obtained from the suspect helped police to track down a Nigerian
who is married to the Malaysian woman, who later turned out to be the owner of
the other bank account, Chong said.
A manhunt for the remaining members of the syndicate was launched after
police interrogated the couple.
Nine suspects were arrested in the first operation carried out in Kepong on
October 20, and another 10 suspects in a follow-up operations in Bandar
Damansara Perdana two days later.
The suspects, aged between 25 and 30 years, are mostly students of private
institutions in Kuala Lumpur.
Investigations revealed the Malaysian woman was used by her Nigerian
husband only for her bank account, before the funds are transferred to other
suspects or to off-shore accounts, Chong said.
He said police were on the trail of another African man, believed to be the
mastermind.
We are working together with the education authorities to check on the validity
of their student visas and travel documents, he said.

- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/19-nigeriansamong-22-held-in-online-scam-probe#sthash.p4PsAECy.dpuf