The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has apprehended 792 suspects for alleged involvement in cryptocurrency investment fraud and romance scams.
The operation, conducted on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, targeted a hideout in an imposing seven-story Big Leaf Building located at No. 7 Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
EFCC's Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwujaren, revealed the details during a press briefing on Monday, describing the bust as a landmark achievement in the fight against cybercrime.
Uwujaren said, “The breakthrough followed actionable intelligence and months of surveillance and monitoring the activities of the syndicate. Among the foreigners arrested are 148 Chinese, 40 Filipinos, two Kharzartans, one Pakistani, and one Indonesian”
“Investigation established that the foreign nationals use the facility at 7, Oyin Jolayemi Street, which could be mistaken for a corporate headquarters of a financial establishment to train their Nigerian accomplices on how to initiate romance and investment scams and also use the identities of Nigerians to perpetrate their criminal activities.”
The building where the suspects were arrested
He said, “All the floors are equipped with high-end desktop computers. On the 5th floor alone, investigators recovered 500 SIM cards of local telcos that were bought for criminal purposes.