The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has announced its largest single-day crackdown on cybercrime and cryptocurrency fraud networks, leading to the arrest of 193 foreigners and 599 Nigerians. The operation took place on December 10 in Lagos, following months of surveillance and intelligence gathering.
Wilson Uwujaren, EFCC’s spokesperson, revealed that the suspects were apprehended at a seven-story building known as the Big Leaf Building, located at 7 Oyin Jolayemi Street. He described the location as a sophisticated hub for training and executing fraud schemes, which targeted unsuspecting victims globally.
Among the 193 foreigners arrested were 114 Chinese nationals, 40 Filipinos, two Kazakh citizens, one Pakistani, and one Indonesian. The EFCC stated that these individuals were part of an organized cybercrime syndicate that recruited Nigerian accomplices to carry out scams.
Uwujaren explained, “The suspects were apprehended in a surprise operation at their hideout, an imposing seven-storey edifice known as Big Leaf Building.
“The breakthrough followed actionable intelligence and months of surveillance and monitoring of the activities of the syndicate.
“Investigation established that the foreign nationals used the facility at 7, Oyin Jolayemi Street, which could be mistaken for a corporate headquarters of a financial establishment to train their Nigerian accomplices on how to initiate romance and investment scams and also use the identities of Nigerians to perpetrate their criminal activities.
“All the floors are equipped with high-end desktop computers. On the 5th floor alone, investigators recovered 500 SIM cards of local telcos that were bought for criminal purposes.
“Their Nigerian accomplices were recruited by the foreign kingpins to prospect for victims online through phishing, targeting mostly Americans, Canadians, Mexicans and several others from European countries.
“They usually arm them with desktop computers and mobile devices and create fake profiles for them.
“The Nigerian accomplices are equally provided with logs that allow them access to foreign communication lines and victims, who they chat with on WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram.
“They are also assigned WhatsApp accounts linked to foreign telephone numbers, especially from Germany and Italy.
“Their jobs are to engage victims in romantic conversations and phantom business and investment discussions to trick them into shopping on the purported online investment shopping platform called www.yooto.com. For those who show interest, activation fees for an account on the platform starts from $35,” Uwujaren said.
He said further investigation was ongoing to establish the extent of the scam and the accomplices, including the likelihood of any collaboration with organised international fraud cells.
The EFCC’s spokesman also said that items recovered from the suspects include desktop computers, mobile phones, laptop computers and cars, adding that the suspects have made statements, while their systems have also been screened.
“They are currently being held with a valid remand warrant and will be arraigned in court in the coming days,” he said.
