The Nigeria Police Force in collaboration with the National Police Agency of Japan has arrested 11 suspects for theft, romance scams, and computer-related fraud targeting Japanese victims.

According to the NPF spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, the clampdown followed a report detailing five cybercrime cases linked to 13 individuals operating from Nigeria.

He said the operation that led to the arrests involved the NPF National Cybercrime Centre, Nigeria’s National Central Bureau and NCB Tokyo.

“The Nigeria Police Force, in collaboration with the National Police Agency of Japan, has strengthened efforts to combat cybercrime. A press briefing at the NPF-NCCC highlighted the effectiveness of this international partnership, which led to the arrest of 11 suspects involved in identity theft, romance scams, and other cyber-related fraud,” Adejobi stated.

He said the operation uncovered how the suspects used social media platforms, especially Instagram, to lure victims into fraudulent romantic relationships.

He said the suspects got wired transactions from their victims which they converted to cryptocurrencies.

Adejobi said, “The subsequent investigation led to the apprehension of eleven individuals and unveiled an extensive network that exploited social media platforms, particularly Instagram, to lure unsuspecting victims into fraudulent romantic relationships. Victims were duped into transferring funds through wire transactions, which were eventually converted into cryptocurrency and funnelled to various digital wallets in Nigeria. “

According to Adejobi, the effort has been able to recover $33,320 from the suspects, adding that effort was still ongoing to uncover more.

He said, “The preliminary stages of the investigation yielded the recovery of $33,320, with ongoing efforts to reclaim additional stolen funds and dismantle the entire syndicate responsible for these crimes.”

ASA