2 Arrested For Swapping ATM Cards To Withdraw N260,000

Police operatives have arrested two suspects who specialise in swapping Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards and withdrawing their victim’s money in Suleja, Niger State.

The state command’s police public relations officer, Wasiu Abiodun said men of the command attached to Suleja Area Command arrested two suspects; namely, Aver Wese, 31, and Godwin Deor, 30, in the area.

He said the suspects were arrested at Old NEPA Roundabout, Suleja after they attempted to swap a female victim’s ATM card at a commercial bank ATM gallery in the town.

Abiodun said: “The victim discovered the attempt and raised an alarm while the suspects immediately entered a Toyota Corolla vehicle with Reg. No. YAB 267 CW and zoomed off from the scene.”

“Consequently, the police patrol team was alerted and trailed the vehicle. It was intercepted at Old NEPA Roundabout, Suleja and the two suspects were arrested, while the driver, one David Therma, abandoned the vehicle and escaped,” he added.

Abiodun said during interrogation, the suspects confessed that: “both of them came from Lokoja and met David at Zuba in Abuja, who had taken the vehicle used for the operation from an Uber driver in Abuja.

“They narrated further that the trio moved to a commercial bank in Suleja, where they met the female victim who was having difficulties in operating an ATM, the suspects spied on her PIN and offered to help her as the machine could not dispense, but in the process, the card was ejected and they attempted to swap her ATM card, she noticed the act and raised an alarm”.

He said the suspects claimed that they were graduates of educational technology from Benue State University, and that they had been carrying out such nefarious activities for the past five months.

He said they allegedly confessed to have withdrawn about N170,000 from other victims’ accounts in Nasarawa State, about N90,000 was withdrawn through the victims’ cards in Lokoja and the similar attempt in Suleja was not successful.