EFCC RAIDS TARGETED SPOTS IN OWERRI, ARRESTS 37 SUSPECTED YAHOO BOYS

The South-east Zonal Office of EFCC,  has  arrested 37 suspected internet fraudsters in Owerri, Imo State.

The raid followed intelligence report which indicated that the suspects were living lavish lifestyles without any known means of livelihood, alleging further that they specialized in defrauding unsuspecting members of the public through the internet.

Items recovered from the suspects include laptop computers, 25 exotic cars, which were mainly several brands of Mercedez-Benz, Lexus, Toyota and expensive mobile phones.

Speaking on the development, the Zonal Head, Usman Imam, who said the exercise was in line with the Commission’s mandate, decried the high rate of cybercrime in the zone which he blamed on the erosion and breakdown of the value system.

“It is true that no society has been able to totally eradicate crime, but we are ready at least to reduce it to the barest minimum and it appears that this cybercrime is one of the challenges of our time, which the EFCC is willing to confront drastically,” Imam said.

Questioning the lifestyle of the suspects, Iman said; “What is the business of a university student, a fresh graduate or youth corper in looking for money to buy a car of N10 million? Obviously, this is rushing life and a collapse of our positive value system where people rarely want to start from a humble beginning,” Imam added.

Usman lamented that if nothing was done, the country’s leadership could be jeopardized as many youths involved in cybercrimes were expected to take up leadership positions in the future.

The suspects, who volunteered statements under caution, would be charged to court at the end of   investigation into the matter.