The Delta State Police Command has paraded 123 suspected internet fraudsters arrested in an estate in Warri, Delta State.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, disclosed this in a video shared on X.com on Wednesday.
According to Edafe, the suspects were lured into a trap with promises of learning BTC trading and forex, only to find themselves in “Hustlers Kingdom”, a notorious cybercrime training network.
Edafe wrote, “Arrest of 123 suspected internet fraudsters in an estate in Warri Delta State. Some of these boys are 17 years old and deceived that they were coming to learn BTC trading and forex instead found themselves in HK (hustlers kingdom)”
In the video, Edafe said in part, “We are here at Ekpan Police Station Effurun Divisional HQ, where we will be parading about 123 suspected internet fraudsters who were engaged in the business of internet fraud.”
Edafe revealed that the suspects, some as young as 17, were deceived by agents flaunting fake wealth on social media, convincing them to join the fraudulent scheme. The agents would then lure them to the estate, where they were subjected to physical abuse and exploitation.
“Their modus operandi is that they engage their agents who go on social media to flaunt wealth that most times isn’t even theirs and convince unsuspecting boys from the ages of 17, 18, 19, 20 that they want to teach them Forex and crypto business.
“They lure some from Kaduna, Akwa-Ibom, and Ibadan to that particular estate and beat the hell out of them, feeding them only when they feel like feeding them,” he said.
This is connected to a previous raid by military personnel from the 3 Battalion Nigerian Army Barracks, who stormed the “Hustle Kingdom” school in Effurun, Uvwie, Delta State, and arrested over 100 suspected internet fraudsters.
The school was reportedly training aspiring cyber criminals, and the suspects were handed over to the police for further investigation and prosecution.
Army Estate is a highbrow residential Post Service Housing Estate for retired military officers and civilians in Uvwie, Delta State.
