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Nigeria Police Force (NPF) officers have arrested 21 suspected cybercriminals over multiple cases of fraud, including the alleged manipulation of MTN Nigeria’s billing system which caused an estimated loss of ₦7.7 billion.
The Public Relations Officer (FPRO), CSP Anietie Iniedu, disclosed this while briefing journalists on key findings of the Nigeria Police Force National Cyber Crime Center (NPF-NCCC), on Thursday evening in Abuja.
The spokesperson said MTN’s investigation began after the telco reported unauthorized use of staff login credentials to manipulate its billing and payment systems; that the suspects fraudulently credited airtime to selected mobile numbers and converted it into data packets distributed to more than 2,016 prepaid lines, resulting in an estimated loss of ₦7.7 billion.
FPRO added that MTN recovered 2,931.79 terabytes of stolen data worth approximately ₦3.8 billion.
The police spokesperson said the NPF-NCCC also dismantled a suspected international cyber fraud syndicate in Asaba, Delta State, arresting six suspects accused of impersonating internationally recognized personalities to defraud foreign victims.
He said the operation followed information provided by the National Crime Agency (NCA) through the British High Commission in Abuja.
CSP Iniedu also revealed that the NPF-NCCC, in collaboration with the City of London Police under Operation Seraphim, arrested four suspects linked to a Telegram-based cybercrime network that allegedly stole and sold personal and financial information primarily of UK citizens.
He said police officers also arrested three suspects over a fake online investment platform purportedly presented as affiliated with the Nigerian Exchange Group and endorsed by economist Yemi Kale.
According to the FPRO, the suspects defrauded investors of approximately ₦29.8 million, which investigators traced to cryptocurrency wallets linked to the alleged mastermind and his accomplices.
A suspect has also been arrested for allegedly circulating a doctored video featuring social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse (VeryDarkMan) with doctored audio falsely attributed to President Bola Tinubu.
Another suspect has been arrested for allegedly posting a viral video on Facebook claiming that nearly 1,000 Boko Haram members had been deployed in Abuja, a claim police described as false and capable of causing public panic.
The FPRO said nine key suspects are at large, stressing that investigations are ongoing to dismantle the remaining criminal networks and bring all those involved to justice.
