Four men, who specialised in scavenging
through waste bins at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, for discarded
business proposals, in order to use them to defraud unsuspecting businessmen,
have been arrested.
The four men, Uche Njokwu, Ifeanyi
Chukwu, Nnegbu Rowland and Lucky Paul were arrested after defrauding one Alhaji
N14million using phantom contract.
The syndicate was smashed by Operatives
of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Special Intelligence Response Team, (IRT).
The syndicate’s Waterloo began after it defrauded Alhaji, a government
contractor.
A police source disclosed: “Members of
the syndicate used to rummage through waste bins at the Federal Ministry
Secretariats, at the Central Business Districts, Abuja, looking for disposed
documents or business proposals from businessmen and companies, seeking for
contracts from the Federal Government. Whenever they find such documents, they
clean them up and insert phone numbers belonging to a member of the syndicate.
It is that phone that the businessman or contractor would call. Sometimes, they
simply call the businessman through his phone number, which is on the proposal
found in the waste bin.”
The source further stated: “Many businessmen
and companies across the country, have fallen prey to this syndicate and lost
millions of naira to their tricks.”
The syndicate ran into stormy waters
after they defrauded Alhaji N14m. It was
gathered that Alhaji had submitted his business proposal for a road
construction and was waiting for the government to contact him. Instead, a
member of the syndicated contacted him, claiming to be one of the personal
assistants of a director in the ministry where Alhaji had submitted his
proposal. He told Alhaji that his
proposal was being considered.
The suspects later made Alhaji to believe
that if he wanted his proposal to be approved, he had to part with some money.
He was told that the money was for some top officials at the ministry, who were
part of those that would approve and award the contract to him.
After the N14million was taken from
Alhaji, the fraudsters bolted. They switched off all their phone lines.
Incensed, Alhaji was said to have
written a petition to the IGP, Mohammed Adamu, who ordered IRT Operatives, led
by a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Abba Kyari, to look into the case.
Kyari and his men, after weeks of investigations and surveillances, arrested
four among the suspects.
The 48-year-old alleged leader of the
syndicate, Njokwu, said: “I reside in Suleja area of Niger State. I used to be
a trader. I became a fraudster after I was defrauded. I was going to Wuse
Market in Abuja when I ran into the syndicate that convinced me that it would
wash my money and turn it into dollars. I met the syndicate at Jabi area of
Abuja; that was in 2006. The men collected N175, 000, which was my business
money. When I realised that I had been defrauded, I tried to retrieve my money.
I got the police involved, but they couldn’t help. I went to members of the syndicate; they told
me that the only way I could get my money was for me to join them. They taught
me the business. I started defrauding people, using the same method. I
travelled to Ghana and spent five years. When I came back, I formed my own syndicate.
We target businessmen and companies looking for government contracts. We sourced information about our victims
through waste bins around Federal Ministry Secretariats in Abuja. The case that
got me into this present trouble was because of N14million, which belonged to
Alhaji.
“We found his proposal for road
construction and his phone number was on it.
We called and sold him the dummy that we were working at the Federal
Ministry of Works. We told him that his proposal was being considered. We deceived him into paying us upfront for
the cost of the contract. He fell for it. We all absconded after the money was
paid. I don’t know how police trailed us. They arrested us and shutdown my
office at Suleja.”
His partner, Paul, 33, said: “I went
into fraud because I was looking for money to start my hairstylist business. It
was my sister that initiated me into 419. But she’s now late. My sister was a
member of the syndicate and their job was to defraud people. After she died, I
replaced her in the syndicate. Our modus operandi was to call people and lie to
them that government has awarded contracts. We used to get people looking for
contracts from the ‘dustbins’ around federal ministry secretariat.”
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