Police arrest man for allegedly defrauding POS operator of N21 million

The police said they have arrested a man for allegedly defrauding a female PoS operator of N21 million.

The suspect is identified as Gift Okechukwu Igwe while the victim is Chinwe Mathias.

The Force spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, disclosed this in a post via his X handle on Friday.

Mr Adejobi, an assistant commissioner of police, said the suspect’s arrest and subsequent parade by the police followed a report of the incident by Ms Mathias, the victim.

He said the suspect is facing allegations of criminal conspiracy, organ trafficking, fraud, cybercrime, theft, impersonation, deceit, cheating and identity theft.

How it happened

Mr Adejobi said Mr Igwe had approached the victim at a shopping mall in Owerri and introduced him as “Dr Henry Ovie,” a neurologist newly transferred from Port Harcourt to Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Owerri, Imo State.

The statement did not indicate when the suspect and victim first met.

Ms Mathias, according to the statement, said the suspect collected her number and established a close relationship with her after which the suspect informed her that he was expecting some money and would need to use her PoS to withdraw the money.

The suspect subsequently transferred the sum of N5.5 million to Ms Mathias’ bank account, which made her believe that he was genuine.

According to the police, the suspect tricked her into entering a code on her PoS machine, on 11 September last year, which she did because she trusted him.

“After the suspect left her place, she noticed that all the money in her PoS account was withdrawn, which amounted to the sum of N21 million and all efforts to reach out to the suspect proved abortive,” police said in the statement.

“She (victim) also went to FMC, where the suspect claimed to be working, to ask about him and she was told that none of their doctors bears such a name.”

Arrest

Mr Adejobi said some “intelligent officers” swung into action to arrest the suspect immediately after the victim reported the case to the Force Criminal Investigation Department in Abuja.

“During the course of investigation, the officers discovered that the suspect had changed his phone number, relocated from Owerri to Lafia in Nasarawa State, where he rented and furnished an apartment, where he was later arrested after being tracked,” he said.

“Further investigations revealed that the suspect goes by different names such as Igwe Richard, and Ovie Henry with multiple phone numbers and emails that he uses to perpetrate his heinous acts,” Mr Adejobi stated.

He said investigation further revealed that the suspect’s identity was not documented in the database of the National Identity Management Commission.

Organ trafficking

The Force spokesperson said the police also discovered upon the arrest of the suspect that he was equally involved in organ trafficking and that he has a contact in Toronto, Canada with whom he engaged in the trade of human organs.

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The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, said that the arrest underscores the commitment and dedication of the police to combating crimes in the country, Mr Adejobi said.

Mr Egbetokun said the arrest also underscores the commitment of the police to ensuring the safety and security of lives and properties in the country.

The inspector general of police assured Nigerians that the police were currently investigating the incident and that anybody linked to the criminal act would be prosecuted accordingly.