A 19-year-old internet fraudster, Chigemezu Arikibe, has been arrested by operatives of the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Responses Team, IRT, in Imo State, for defrauding a Cambodian woman of the sum of $75,000.
Saturday Vanguard gathered that the suspect, Akiribe, opened a fake Facebook and Instagram accounts using the name and pictures of an American pilot and he approached the victim, Sophanmia on a dating site and told her that he was a pilot working for a British airline.
It was gathered further that the suspect, after having numerous correspondence with the victim offered to send her expensive gift items, from America and the sum of $500,000, which he said would be invested in real estate business in Cambodia.
Police sources disclosed to Vanguard that the suspect informed the victim, that he would send the items and money in a box through a courier agency and fees would be paid for it’s clearing.
The source explained that a courier agency from Indonesia contacted the victim and they made her pay a delivery fee of $800 and she ended up paying the sum of N75,000, while the gifts and money didn’t get to her.
The source added that the victim in her quest to get the gift and money from the bank, also took loans from the bank, which she also sent to the fraudster. She was said to have alerted the Nigeria Embassy in Cambodian, when she discovered that the said pilot, who was communicating with her was calling her from Nigeria and not the United State of America.
It was gathered that the Nigerian Mission in Cambodia, after listening to the victim and analyzing data she provided to them, alerted the Inspector General of Police, Adamu Mohammed and operatives of the IRT, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari were detailed to track down the suspect who was discovered to be based in Ibitolu area of Imo State.
The suspect was tracked and arrested with the sim card and the phone used in committing the crime. Said a police officer: “When we went through the phone we saw chats between the suspect and the victim.
Upon interrogation, the suspect confessed to everything and he also said there was a guy in Indonesia who helped him pull out the money from a USA bank account.
He claimed to be an American and that was why he gave the woman an American bank account. The worst was that the woman went and borrowed the money from the bank. “ The source stated.
When Saturday Vanguard interviewed Chigemezu Arikibe, a native of Ibitolu, Local Government Area of Imo State, he said’ “ I am 19-year-old and I attended Community School, in Eziooha area of Ibitolu.
I graduated in October 2018. It was Ugochukwu my friend who taught how to do internet fraud. Uochukwu used to communicate with Oyibo people on the internet and whenever he was chatting, I would be monitoring to learn.
After, I started my own. I opened a fake fakebook account with the name Frank William and on Instagram I was Patrick William. I used a picture of a pilot which I saw on Instagram.
I downloaded his pictures and I uploaded them on my fake fakebook and Instagram pages. I also used the same picture on Instagram and the pilot later discovered that I used his pictures and he started complaining. He was all over the social medial complaining.
He even said that he has been arrested three times by the police and he said he is not the one duping people. My Facebook account was later blocked, then I focused on Instagram, where I met the client that paid me this money. I followed her and we started charting then I told her that I was from London and I was a pilot.
Then I gave her my name and we started discussing about life. Then I told the woman that I wanted to send her some gifts and a large sum of money to her from London. I told her that I wanted to send expensive cloths, shoes, wrist watches and the sum of $500,000. I told her that the $500,000 would be invested in real estate business.
Then I sent her pictures of the items I wanted to send to her and the money, which would be inside a box. Then I told her that I sent the money through a courier company and she would have to pay customs tax. My friend in Indonesia acted like the courier company and they contacted her.
She was given the first bill of $800 and she paid and the delivery guy on Indonesia called the woman again and told her that the gifts had been seized and they told her to pay $2700.
She paid the money and they asked her to pay another money, which was $6200 and she paid several other monies to have the goods released. She ended up paying the sum of $75,000 and I got my share.”
