The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested 31 suspected internet fraudsters following a sting operation at an online fraud training academy located in Becki Estate, Karu, Federal Capital Territory.
The suspects — comprising two alleged kingpins and a cohort of recruits — were apprehended on Thursday while undergoing active fraud tutorials at the facility. Items recovered during the operation include mobile phones, 18 laptop computers, and other electronic gadgets.
Investigations by the commission revealed a calculated recruitment scheme in which the academy proprietors lured unsuspecting victims, some from as far as Benue State, with promises of legitimate job offers. Upon arrival, the recruits were handed communication devices, computers, and software, and initiated into training in cyber fraud.
The academy operated with striking characteristics of a criminal detention facility. Proprietors housed recruits within the premises, restricted their movement strictly to the facility’s perimeters, and confiscated their personal mobile phones — effectively severing all contact with the outside world.
Compliance was enforced through corporal punishment, with physical assault meted out to any recruit considered uncooperative or insufficiently dedicated to the training.
The EFCC stated that all 31 suspects would be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.
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