The Benin Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it has arrested no fewer than 113 internet fraud suspects in eight months through its ‘Operation Re-wire’.
The arrest took place between January and August in its area of jurisdiction, including Edo,Delta and Ondo states. They achieved this feat as result of the commission’s new anti-graft strategic plans to tackle the threat of cyber crimes in the zone. He said that several exotic cars, laptops, mobile phones, flash drives, internet modems and charms were recovered from the suspects.
Bello said the commission, in collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), would soon bust cyber crime kingpins and personalities in the zone, using the new operation wire. He gave assurance that the operation would ensure that businesses and properties established and connected to suspected cyber criminals would be confiscated.
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. Bello said the suspect specialised in obtaining and stealing people’s identification information, which she usually forwarded to her American collaborator.
Her collaborator uses it to file for the fraudulent tax return with the Internal Revenue Service, and she gets her share through Bitcoin, about 185 Bitcoin, which by current market value is over N656 million.