Nigerian ‘Yahoo Boy’ on FBI’s most wanted list apprehended in Australia

He owned a hip hop record label and he lived the high life of luxury hotels, gambling, strippers and bling. But behind the glitz and the glamour Tobechi Enyinna Onwuhara was one of the FBI’s most wanted men, allegedly a fraudster who scammed at least $44 million through cyber crimes.

But the sophisticated con artist, who fled Florida in August 2008 amid an intense FBI investigation, has been caught in Sydney and sent back to the US to face a string of fraud charges.

Nigerian-born Tobechi Onwuhara, 33, was “provisionally arrested in response to a request from the United States Government” in December last year, according to a spokeswoman for the Australian Attorney-General’s department.

Mr Onwuhara is to face prosecution in the US for fraud related offences, including identity fraud and computer fraud, the spokeswoman said. see full deets inside

“On January 29, the Minister for Justice [Jason Clare] made a determination to surrender Mr Onwuhara to the US.

“As a matter of long standing practice, the Australian government does not comment on operational matters,” she said.

Fairfax Media understands Mr Onwuhara had been living it up in Sydney after disappearing in August 2008.

The FBI’s website now lists Mr Onwuhara as captured, but with scant detail of the arrest. They were offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

The source who tipped off Fairfax said Mr Onwuhara had been making regular trips to The Star casino as well as splashing cash at numerous popular nightclubs.



“He would bet at the Star under a different name, he was a regular, then one day he just disappeared and someone told us he wanted by the FBI,” a source said.

A spokeswoman for Echo entertainment, owner of The Star, did not return calls and emails. The US Consulate in Sydney also did not return calls.

An Australian Federal Police spokesman confirmed the AFP arrested Mr Onwuhara.

According to the FBI’s most wanted list Mr Onwuhara is wanted for his alleged involvement in an elaborate scheme that defrauded the financial industry out of tens of millions of dollars.

“Onwuhara is a key member of a group of Nigerians who allegedly have been conducting fraudulent banking activities from Florida and Texas, since 2005,” the FBI’s most wanted website states.

“It is alleged that the group has been using online internet databases to steal victims’ identities.

“Once acquired, they allegedly use the victims’ information to gain access to the victims’ ‘Home Equity Line of Credit’ accounts and wire transfer the money to accounts mainly located overseas, some in the United States.”

Some of Onwuhara’s alleged co-conspirators have been arrested, inside and outside of the United States, the FBI’s website states.

Onwuhara was charged federally with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and a federal warrant was issued for his arrest by the US District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, on August 1, 2008.



[Sydney Morning Herald]

EFCC Arrests Former CBN Governor Charles Soludo

Saharareporters just learnt that officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission this afternoon arrested immediate past Governor of the Central bank of Nigeria, Charles Soludo in connection with the Australian polymer banknotes bribery scam.

A close relative of Mr. Soludo confirmed to Saharareporters operatives picked up the former CBN governor in Abuja a few hours ago.

 A government source told Saharareporters that Mr. Soludo is facing interrogation by the EFCC at its Abuja office with regards to his role in the bribery of CBN officials by an Australian currency mint company, Securency.

 The source told our reporters about a dozen other CBN former and serving CBN officials have also been apprehended for questioning on the deal.

 EFCC spokesperson could not be reached for confirmation of the arrest.

Malaysia arrests 13 Nigerians for fraud

Malaysian police authorities have arrested a group of  five Nigerians using the country as  base of fraudulent operations, against foreigners.

The Nigerians, aged between 27 and 31, were arrested on Friday in Nilai by police following several months of intelligence gathering and investigations, Malaysia’s NewStraitsTimes has reported online.

According to the report, the country’s Federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Syed Ismail Syed Azizan said the syndicate was believed to have cheated various victims abroad of RM1.86 million. read full deets after the cut

The syndicate’s modus operandi had been to advertise the sale of surgical gloves on the Internet using the masthead of a well-known Malaysian firm, which had a global reputation in the industry.

“The syndicate had altered the contact details to differ from that of the original company as they planned to cash in on the firm’s reputation and standing in the global glove making industry,” said Syed Ismail.

“The surgical gloves offered by the syndicate were significantly cheaper than the current market prices. Victims from countries like Libya, Romania, Bulgaria and Kazakhstan were intrigued by the discounted prices.”

It is understood that contact between the victims and syndicate members were through the phone or emails. Once an order had been placed, a downpayment of between 10 and 30 per cent of the total value was required.

“The money was transferred into local bank accounts here and withdrawn immediately by the syndicate members. However, the order never reached the victims abroad, prompting them to lodge reports at Malaysian embassies and commissions,” said Syed Ismail.

Before long, Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, known also as Wisma Putra,  was inundated with complaints from their embassies abroad. It is learnt that as of Nov 12, police had a total of 49 complaints from individuals and corporate firms abroad.

Investigations revealed that the five men had entered Malaysia on student visas. When they were arrested, police seized numerous mobile phones, laptops and modems in the raid.

The five have been remanded until Nov 20 to facilitate investigations.

In a separate case, police also arrested eight Nigerians, aged between 22 and 28, at two locations in Subang Jaya on Oct 31 and Nov 1 for credit card fraud which cost banks thousands of ringgit in losses.

“The suspects had cooperated with another African syndicate which provided credit card details, including the three digit security code. They paid US$20 (RM60) for every successful card detail,” said Syed Ismail.

He said, with the credit card information, the syndicate then made online purchases such as branded handbags and electronic items.

Meanwhile in the United Kingdom, a 50 year old Nigeria, Peter Oyewor has been sentenced to six years in prison for money laundering £1.4 million over a three year period.

Oyewor, 50, of Grieves Road was found guilty of transferring money which had been sent from across the world through his agencies.

He was in the middle of a circle of fraudsters, and was used for transferring the bulk of the funds to Nigeria.

He operated as an agent for Western Union in Manor Road, Gravesend and a Moneygram store in Woolwich during his years of money laundering.

Mr Oyewor used copies of false documents to deceive customers that attended his premises, and between February and October 2009, undertook 63 transactions to the value of £104,000, Kentnews.co.uk reported.

“Genuine documents were only used in two of these transactions, and when found out Moneygram closed its agency.

“Between July 2007 and September 2010, he operated as Abmec Logistics in Woolwich, and received £1.4 million in transfers from overseas – of which £1.25 million was obtained using false ID.

“Mr Oyewor was arrested following an investigation by the Serious Economic Crime Unit of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate.

“As he sentenced the 50-year-old, Judge Jeremy Carey said Peter Oyewor had “been convicted on the clearest evidence of money laundering”.

“He added: “This case is in the high end of the bracket of serious offences of this kind.”

“Detective Sergeant Adrian Brown, who led the investigation, said: “Oyewor was not the fraudster but did play a significant role by laundering the funds. People were tricked through a variety of methods, from dating scams to renting property that didn’t exist.

“In two instances people believed they were paying expenses incurred by girlfriends who they intended to travel to live with them, but in fact they had been conned out of thousands.

“The money was largely taken from people in the USA and Australia but we also identified victims in Mongolia, Russia, Ireland, Malaysia, Israel and Germany.

“Without Oyewor’s input the fraudsters would have been unable to have taken advantage of their victims, he was an important part of the process.”

Police Arrest Mastermind of UNIPORT Killings

The prime suspect in the murder of the 4 Uniport students, Coxson Lerebori Lucky has been arrested. Coxson was declared wanted yesterday by the IG and the Police just confirmed his arrest. He was the one that allegedly raised the false alarm that led to the death of the boys. have intel from a reliable source that 21 people have been arrested so far.

Police Orders Davido's Arrest, To Be Prosecuted Soon?

According to what Punch Newspaper reported, on Aug. 12, 2012, CRIME DIGEST reported that popular singer, David Adeleke, aka Davido, allegedly assaulted a taxi driver in Lagos and
that his publicist, Valerie Obaeze, claimed via an e-mail that the singer knew nothing about the incident.

In a related development, Hashiru Azeez, the employer of the taxi driver, whose name is Femi Ajibola, told CRIME DIGEST that Davido himself said that the taxi driver was assaulted by his cousins. Azeez confirmed that he gave a Toyota Corolla to Ajibola on hire purchase.

“I gave it out to him on hire purchase. When Ajibola initially told me about this matter, I did not believe him. Later, I went to Beni’s Apartment in company with Sgt. Nuru Umar, who is the Investigating Police Officer, and we found out that he was right.full details inside

“We went to the DPO and he called Davido’s father after I took time to explain who the boy was,” Azeez said.

Immediately after the story was published, the young woman who was conveyed in the cab to see Davido allegedly threatened Ajibola at the taxi park where he operates.

“I got a call from Ajibola that Susan allgedly went to the park to threaten him. She said that if he was claiming that he lost N100,000 during the incident with Davido, she would pay the money. Then she asked if the cab driver had forgotten that she lost her cell-phone, which was valued at N175,000.

“She said that Ajibola would have to produce her phone because he was the one that took them to the hotel in his cab. She added that she would deal with him,” he said.

The car dealer said he had advised his employee to report the matter at the nearest police station.

However, since the case had initially been reported at the Bar Beach Police Station, Ajibola was directed to go and lodge his complaint there.

Azeez said, “Ajibola went to Maroko Police Station, but he was directed to the Bar Beach Police Station because he had already reported the case there.”

Azeez said that a petition had been written on his behalf to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2 about the incident. He stated that somehow, the Adelekes got wind of this and contacted him for a meeting.

“A lawyer, Malachy Ukwamadu, wrote a petition on our behalf to the AIG Zone 2. We had written the petition even before the publication. Somehow, the Adeleke family got to know that we had written a petition and they got someone to ask me to come with Ajibola to the Bar Beach Police Station. They said they would bring Davido to the station. The boy had surrendered himself and the police were ready to prosecute him. It was hard to believe, but I was optimistic,” the car dealer said.

Azeez said he was advised not to honour the invitation by a policeman who warned that the case might be tilted to the advantage of Davido.

“The policeman warned that there was an ulterior motive behind the invitation. He said the moment that Ajibola stepped into the Bar Beach Police Station, the case would change and turn against him.

“This prompted us to invite a lawyer to go to the station instead of Ajibola. Ukwamadu was out of town. So, we invited Bar. Ademola Olamide. While we waited for them to bring Davido, the IPO told the lawyer that they wanted to negotiate.

“Olamide said that he thought they wanted to bring in Davido and why was it that it was the police that wanted to negotiate. Should they not be neutral?” Azeez said.

The lawyer insisted he would not talk to the police unless they brought Davido to the station. The IPO then phoned somebody who spoke with Olamide and agreed to meet him.

When meeting took place on Aug. 12, the lawyer informed Azeez that the picture painted by Davido was different from what he had learnt from the complainant.

Azeez said, “I was asked to come over to explain. Fortunately, we had our witness. While the counsel was disputing what we said, we called in the witness. He is a driver and he drove along with Ajibola; he had some guys in his vehicle and I learnt that those girls brought those guys.

“When we brought in our witness, they calmed down. Davido then said that he was not the one that assaulted Ajibola. He said that the guys we were claiming were his bodyguards were actually his cousins. He said that it was Bayo, one of his cousins, who beat up Ajibola.”

Suspecting a foul play somewhere, Azeez asked what business Bayo had with Susan since she was Davido’s girlfriend.

“We told him that from his conversation, Susan was his girlfriend and why would Bayo beat up Susan? At a point, they said that they would like to compensate Ajibola and that they wanted to know how much Ajibola made in a day.

“They said that they would pay two weeks’ earnings. I was not there when they were discussing the money issue. I told my lawyer that there was no basis for compensation since he denied assaulting Ajibola. I said he should produce those who beat up Ajibola, that the police should do their job and we would know what step to take from there,” he said.

Azeez told CRIME DIGEST that Ajibola’s car keys had not been returned to him. He said that an agency that fights for the cause of the less privileged had contacted him and was ready to help out in the matter.

“The agency champions the cause of the less privileged and they are willing to assist us in seeking justice. Davido claims he was not the one that assaulted the driver; but how did he get hold of the car keys before handing it to his father and later, the DPO?

“Why would he take someone’s car keys and keep them? Up till now, nobody has confirmed if Davido has written any statement regarding this case. We still believe that he is above the law until he comes out to say his own part of the story. If at all we agree to negotiate with him, he should accept that he was wrong to have assaulted a man that is 16 years older than him andapologise for his behaviour. Then we will know what to do from there,” he said.

When CRIME DIGEST contacted Susan on the phone, a male voice answered the call, claiming it was a wrong number. However, Obaeze, Davido’s publicist, maintained that her client knew nothing about the incident.

In an e-mail to CRIME DIGEST, the publicist wrote, “Thanks for your enquiry and effort to get our own side of the story, but our previous statement (still) stands. Davido was neither aware of nor involved in any incident involving the assault of a taxi driver or the illegal seizure of his keys. He does not condone violence in any form and will not be commenting further on this matter.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, Zone 2 Police Command, Femi Balogun, confirmed that the case was being handled by his command. He said that the AIG had ordered that Davido should be brought before him with the Toyota Corolla used as taxi. He said they did not know where Davido is and he would be picked up once they have information on his whereabouts.

Culled from Punch Newspaper

Church attacks in Kogi State: Police Arrest 3 Suspects + politicians

Kogi state police command has arrested three of the suspected terrorists, lead by one Alhaji Yekini Isah, and some politicians in connection with the killing of several worshippers and two soldiers at Ottite and Okene in the central senatorial district of the state.

The state commissioner of police, Alhaji Muhammed Musa Katsina, who paraded the three suspects before journalists at the police headquarters in Lokoja said his men caught the armed terrorists at Ibilo in Edo state, after a tip off.

Among the three suspects was a middle aged woman, whom the police said the preliminary investigation revealed that she was an accessory before the fact.

“This old woman was said to have assisted the wounded terrorists under the cover of darkness to Ibilo after the exchanged of fire with police during the attack on the Deeper Live Church.

Photos:The Police arrest more suspected gunmen involved in the murder case of Oshimole's Secretary

 

see photos of the police supposed killers of late Mr Oyerinde, former secretary of Adams Oshiomole

Army officers 'arrested' by Gov Fashola Himself on BRT lane (photos)

Governor Fashola yesterday 'arrested' (more like confronted) two senior military officers who drove on the  BRT lane at the Outer Marina in Lagos. The Governor was around the area when he spotted the military car driving on the Bus Rapid Transit lane which is meant strictly for the BRT buses, and came down from his own car to confront the men. Though no arrests was made but it seems Fashola is really serious about changing Lagos. well if only Nigerians can agree or what do you think!

Brave youths arrest 2 Boko Haram suspects

 The killing of a 20-year-old innocent boy was all the youths needed in confronting three gun-totting Boko Haram members who invaded Rigasa and Mahuta, a suburb of Kaduna metropolis yesterday. The brave youths arrested the two suspects, aged between 17 and 22, who had gone to the compound of the District Head of Afaka, Alhaji Abdulwahab, in a bid to kill him. The Boko Haram members were bearing an AK-47 rifle at the time they invaded two neighbouring Rigasa and Mahuta communities on a motorcycle at 9a.m. full story inside

Also, in what seemed like divine intervention, an attempt by the sect to bomb a branch of Living Faith Church (aka Winners’ Chapel) in Okene, Kogi State failed yesterday as the bomb went off at the main gate.

In the Kaduna incident, an eyewitness said, “the gunmen came and said they were looking for the ‘Hakimin Mahuta’ (District Head of Mahuta), disguising as members of his subjects. So, when they allowed them into the house, the ‘Hakimin’ was not comfortable with them, so he ran back inside.“The suspects ran after him and shot at him severally, but their shots missed him, instead a small boy, Nura was hit. When they discovered that the ‘Hakimin’ had escaped through the back exit, they came back outside and picked their bike and trailed him to Mahuta.”

On getting to Mahuta, the three gunmen started shooting sporadically, but the youths dared them. They moved nearer, even as they were firing at them. An elder in the community, who identified himself as Mallam Abdullahi, told our reporter that “the young gunmen came on a bike and started shooting, but having discovered that, our youths were ready for them, they started withdrawing into the bush and the youths were closing in on them with bare hands”.

According to Abdullahi, “at a point, their bullets got finished and they loaded another round of ammunition, but despite that, the youths were able to apprehend two of the three gunmen, while the last one ran away.” Abdullahi, however, said that although, they shot seven of the youths, who were being treated at some undisclosed hospitals in Kaduna, but none of them died.