Mother of 4, 3 others arrested in Enugu for ATM card fraud

From Geoffrey Anyanwu, Enugu

A 29-year-old mother of four, Mrs. Chika Nwoko, and her three male Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Cards swapping gang members have been arrested in Enugu.

The three males are Michael Sopuruchi, 36; Osinachi Godwin, 18, and Moses Ani, 29.

The criminal syndicate of four were intercepted and arrested in Emene, Enugu, on May 6 by police operatives serving in Hawk Tactical Squad of the Enugu State Command, in collaboration with troops of the Nigerian Air Force, Enugu.

Confirming the story to newsmen, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe, said the suspects were arrested while escaping to their hideout behind Emenite in Emene, Enugu, after they fraudulently stole the ATM Card and Personal Identification Number (PIN) of an unsuspecting 63-year-old male victim.

He said the suspects, who have already been arraigned and detained, were pretending to assist their victim withdraw money from a commercial bank ATM, along Ogui Road, Enugu.

He said: “The suspects used the card and PIN to withdraw the total sum of N495,000.00 from the victim’s account. Meanwhile, the suspects confessed to the crime, stating that they had carried out many other criminal acts of ATM card swapping and fraud within Enugu metropolis, while four different banks’ ATM cards, including that of the victim, were recovered from them.”

Ndukwe disclosed that when the suspects were arraigned on Tuesday, the magistrate ordered that they be remanded in Enugu Custodial Centre, and adjourned the case to June 7 for “further hearing, and the case-file transmitted to the Attorney General for legal advice, through the Director, Public Prosecution (DPP), Ministry of Justice, Enugu State.”

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Ammani, who commended the joint operatives for busting and bringing the criminal syndicate to book, has called on bank customers, particularly the elderly and those without proper knowledge of how to use ATM of banks, to exercise caution and seek the assistance of banks’ staff while using their cards on the machine.