$2m fraud: NPF Interpol unit tracks down international fraud suspect in Dubai

The Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar has urged Nigerians living overseas to shun crime; this was even as the police in its fight against international crimes has located and effected the arrest of one Itumo Anthony Chidebere, a suspected fraudster, who fled to Dubai after defrauding a Nigerian businesswoman of a whopping sum of two million US dollars.

Force Spokesman, Frank Mba, while revealing that the suspect would be extradited to Nigeria soon, explained that the INTERPOL Unit of the Nigeria Police, headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police(DCP), Mr.  Adeyemi Ogunjemilusi, in conjunction with its counterpart in Abu-Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, carried the tracking and eventual arrest of the suspect who had been on wanted list for a while.

The 35-year-old suspect, who hails from Ebonyi State, has been on the run for the past 13 months after perfecting his fraudulent deal.

“In June, 2012, the suspect was reported to have presented himself to the said businesswoman as an Estate Broker in Dubai, claiming that he could purchase a house for his victim,” said Mba. “Relying on this assurance, the unsuspecting complainant made a payment of $2,082,139 US Dollars to the suspect, on the receipt of which the suspect disappeared without purchasing the said house, but rather chose to be running from one country to another in a bid to evade arrest.”

According to Mba, INTERPOL Abuja was working with their United Arab Emirates counterpart and the Federal Ministry of Justice to facilitate the extradition of the suspect to Nigeria.

Commending the personnel of the INTERPOL section for this and other numerous successes recorded in international anti-crime operations, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP MD Abubakar reaffirmed the determination of the Force to bring to justice all criminals connected with international crimes. The number one police chief promised to strengthen the bond between the Nigeria Police and their counterparts in other countries in resolving all trans-border crimes.

The IGP further advised Nigerians in Diaspora to steer clear of fraud, drug trafficking and other related crimes, noting that engaging in such criminal activities could bring the image of Nigeria to disrepute.