.Arrest two suspects for ATM card swapping in Niger
Personnel of Operation Delta Safe deployed by the state Police Command to the River Niger Head Bridge have arrested a 43-year-old suspected gunrunner, Friday Emmanuel.
The suspect, who hails from Ethiope-West Local Council of Delta State, was arrested on May 16, at about 9:45 p.m.
Confirming the arrest yesterday, spokesperson for the command, Bright Edafe, told The Guardian that the operatives were on a stop and search duty, when they intercepted a white Toyota Hiace bus with registration number: AYB573XC, which was driven by the suspect.
He said: “Upon subjecting the said vehicle to a search, 875 rounds of live cartridges concealed in a sack wrapped with pieces of clothes were recovered. The suspect was arrested for further investigation, and the exhibit was impounded. Investigation is ongoing.”
Edafe also confirmed that a special squad deployed by the Commissioner of Police, Abaniwonda Olufemi, to Ughelli axis of the state, arrested Joel Joseph, the leader of a dreaded kidnapping syndicate.
He stressed that Ughelli North Local Council had been embarking on an intelligence-led policing strategy that has paid off, leading to the arrest of over nine suspected kidnappers and the recovery of firearms.
Also, police operatives attached to A Division in Bida Local Council of Niger State arrested two suspects for Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card swapping.
The suspects are: Philip Adefemi, 46, and Joseph Michael, 42, both of the Masaka area of Nasarawa State.
Spokesperson othe command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, in a statement yesterday, explained that the incident was reported at A Division, that a victim was at a commercial bank in Bida to withdraw money; he inserted his ATM card in the machine, but it could not dispense cash. A person behind the victim offered to assist him. Unknown to the victim, however, his card had been swapped. A few minutes later, he received a debit alert of N400,000.
Abiodun stated that on receipt of the complaint, police operatives swung into action and arrested the suspects, while one Bala escaped.
He said: “In the course of preliminary investigation, 42 ATM cards were recovered from the suspects, including that of the victim, and a Mercedes-Benz C230 with registration number Abuja KUJ 44 NT.
“During interrogation, they confessed to the crime, saying that most of the cards used for swapping are expired ones. The suspects are under investigation. They will be prosecuted as soon as the investigation is concluded.”
