IGP’s team arrest four undergraduates posing as top Customs officers

Detectives attached to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris’s Special Intelligence Response Team (IRT), have arrested four undergraduates posing as top officers of the Nigerian Customs Service and eight robbery suspects operating in Abuja and Niger State.

The four undergraduates, Aliyu Sunday, 21, Oricha Prosper 19, Shaka Sumaila and Taye Samuel 21, were alleged to have defrauded several unsuspecting Nigerians millions of naira via social media, while pretending to be top Customs officers.

Items recovered from them are Nigerian Customs Service documents, pictures of genuine Custom officers, who they were impersonating. Also recovered are bank account numbers, which they allegedly used for the crime. Different communications between the suspects and their victims were found in their phones and laptops. The items had been impounded.

Sunday and Prosper are alleged to be Business Administration students of Ambrose Ali University Epoma, Edo State. Sumaila is Electrical Engineering student, Auchi Polytechnic, while Samuel is a 400 level student of Ambrose Ali University, Edo State. They were arrested in Epoma, Edo State.

A police source said: “The suspects used to pose on Facebook and other social media as Custom Officers selling auctioned cars. After several complaints to the IGP about activities of some notorious fraudsters posing as Nigerian Customs Officers on social media, the IGP directed IRT operatives to trace and arrest the criminals. After several days of analysis of intelligence on ground and support from Technical Intelligence Unit, two IRT teams were deployed to EDO State. Eventually, four of the culprits were arrested by IRT men in Epoma, Edo State. The suspects confessed to the crimes and disclosed how they swindled millions of naira from innocent Nigerians while posing as Custom officers selling auctioned cars.”

In another development, the team arrested eight robbery suspects, operating along Abuja and Niger State routes. The suspects include the receivers of the snatched cars.

It was gathered that on May 15, after series of complaints from Nigerians on cars being snatched in Abuja and Suleija areas of Niger,  the IGP directed IRT men to halt the trend and ensure those behind the crime were arrested.

The operatives swung into action and arrested eight of the robbery suspects in Abuja, Niger and Kogi states.

The suspects are Adam Mohammed 33, who is the gang leader, Musa Gana 34,  Abaji  Abuja, Okonkwo Kingsley, 23, Mohammed  Suleiman 25, Yahaya Saliu 23, Awal Zuberu 27, Mohammed  Idi 29, aka Soja and Haruna Umar, 32. Umar confessed to have received Hyundai salon car from the gang.

The receivers allegedly confessed to have received Toyota Camry 2010 Model, Honda Accord E.O.D Salon car and Mazda Salon car from the suspected robbers.

The robbery suspects confessed to multiple cars snatching in Abuja and Niger State. It’s gathered that the IRT operatives are making efforts to arrest other fleeing gang members and recover more snatched cars.