The Benin Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it arrested no fewer than 113 internet fraud suspects in eight months through its \u2018Operation Re-wire\u2019.
\nMr Muktar Bello, Head of Operations, EFCC in the zone, said this on Monday during a news conference in Benin.<\/p>\n
Bello said the arrest took place between January and August in its area of jurisdiction, including Edo, Delta and Ondo states.<\/p>\n
According to him, the feat was made possible because of the anti-graft commission\u2019s new strategic plans to tackle the menace of cybercrimes in the zone.<\/p>\n
He said that the commission secured 53 convictions during the period under review, while other cases were still pending in different courts.<\/p>\n
He said that several exotic cars, laptops, mobile phones, flash drives, internet modems and charms were recovered from the suspects.<\/p>\n
Bello said the commission, in collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), would soon bust cybercrime kingpins and personalities in the zone, using the new operation wire.
\nHe gave assurance that the operation would ensure that businesses and properties established and connected to suspected cybercriminals would be confiscated.
\n\u201cVery soon you will see us closing up car dealerships and raiding hotels, but all these are the end result of Business E-mail Compromise (BEC),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said that the collaboration with the FBI had led to the arrest of a female suspected cyber fraudster, who allegedly worked in collaboration with foreign counterparts in a dark web.
\nBello said the suspect specialised in obtaining and stealing people\u2019s identification information, which she usually forwarded to her American collaborator.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer collaborator uses it to file for the fraudulent tax return with the Internal Revenue Service, and she receives her cut through Bitcoin.
\n\u201cAbout 185 Bitcoin, which by current market value is over N656 million, has been traced to her,\u201d Bello said.
\nHe also said that the commission had arrested a cybercriminal and two siblings involved in BEC.<\/p>\n
He said that the modus operandi of the three suspects was to always search for victim\u2019s official email addresses in the web.
\nHe said that the suspects would soon be arraigned, adding that the commission remained resolute in eliminating cyber crimes in the zone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Benin Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it arrested no fewer than 113 internet fraud suspects in eight months through its \u2018Operation Re-wire\u2019. Mr Muktar Bello, Head of Operations, EFCC in the zone, said this on Monday during a news conference in Benin. Bello said the arrest took place […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":2612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,15],"tags":[106,694,68,613],"class_list":["post-15005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-economy","tag-edo-state","tag-efcc","tag-ondo-state"],"yoast_head":"\n