By Emmanuel Daniji

The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrimes Centre (NPF-NCCC) has arrested seven suspects over alleged involvement in money laundering, business email compromise, identity theft, sextortion, blackmail, romance scams and other internet-related offences.

Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of the centre, Akaninyene Ezima, disclosed this on Wednesday during a press conference in Abuja.

One of the major cases emerged from “Operation Broken Mask,” a joint investigation involving the NPF-NCCC, German Federal Police, known as the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) under the Budapest Convention 24/7 Network.

Ezima said the investigation began after German authorities requested the preservation of data linked to an IP address allegedly used in a sophisticated business email compromise operation.

The suspect was arrested on July 20 at his residence in Megamound Estate, Lekki, Lagos.

According to the police, forensic analysis of devices recovered from the residence uncovered more than 12.5 million email logs belonging to victims across more than 50 countries.

Investigators also allegedly discovered that the suspect’s Bank Verification Number was linked to accounts with six banks and fintech platforms, including GTBank, Zenith Bank, FairMoney, Carbon, OPay and PalmPay.

A Mercedes-Benz AMG GLC 43, allegedly purchased with proceeds of crime, was also recovered.

Ezima alleged that the suspect used phishing kits sourced through Telegram to obtain Microsoft 365 login credentials belonging to employees of targeted companies. The operation reportedly generated more than N100 million.

N56.3m Investment Fraud Investigation

The police also arrested the owner of a technology company over an alleged international cyber-enabled investment fraud and money laundering scheme.

Ezima said the investigation followed a petition filed by Ugwu Francisca & Co. on behalf of Elizabeth and Prince Iruaregbon, who allegedly lost N56.3 million after being persuaded to invest through a WhatsApp-based stock trading platform that promised high returns.

Investigators allegedly traced the funds to accounts operated by entities linked to the suspected syndicate.

The suspect’s technology company was allegedly used to convert proceeds from the fraud.

According to the police, records from the company’s account with Save Heaven Microfinance Bank showed terminal cash inflows and outflows totalling N3.2 billion between October 30, 2025, and May 31, 2026.

The investigation further allegedly uncovered the conversion of about N3.6 billion in suspected criminal proceeds into Tether (USDT) through Bybit peer-to-peer transactions.

The suspect, arrested on August 13 in Agiliti, Lagos, allegedly admitted owning Kestart Technology and engaging in cryptocurrency peer-to-peer trading on Bybit.

Two Arrested Over Impersonation

In another case, police arrested two suspects in Anambra over alleged conspiracy, identity theft, impersonation and computer-related fraud.

The investigation followed a complaint from Faruk Yabo, Permanent Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, over the alleged impersonation of his identity on WhatsApp and Facebook.

The suspects were arrested on August 4 following technical intelligence and other investigative activities.

Police reportedly recovered 24 registered and 33 unregistered MTN SIM cards, alongside 26 registered and 18 unregistered Airtel SIM cards and an MTN toolkit.

One of the suspects allegedly admitted to buying and selling registered and unregistered SIM cards and creating a social media account using the identity of a UK citizen, which was allegedly used to defraud individuals in India.

The NPF-NCCC said investigations into the cases are ongoing as authorities work to establish the full extent of the alleged activities and identify other individuals who may be connected to the operations.