A 400-level student of the Department of Banking and Finance, Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, who defrauded his father the sum of N5,200, 000 has been arrested by policemen.
He conspired with a suspect, Jerry Lawrence of the Jeddo community in Warri, to commit the crime.
The student, identified as Nelson Estrada, had feigned kidnapped and requested his father to pay the sum of N50 million as ransom to the ghost kidnappers to regain his freedom.
The fraud victim was directed to pay the quoted ransom through a Bitcoin account, and Nelson‘s father paid the sum of N5,200,000 to the Bitcoin account of Jerry Lawrence, the co-conspirator of the fraud.
Nelson had earlier sent a video of himself tied and being tortured by the ghost kidnappers, a stunt intended to provoke his father‘s emotion to quickly come to his rescue by paying the demanded ransom sum.
But his father approached and complained of the kidnap saga before the police in Abraka.
DPO of Abraka police station, SP Fabian Ayameh, mobilised and led operatives to embark on a thorough investigation, engaging fintech experts, and on Monday, June 10, the major suspect, Jerry Lawrence, who owned the Bitcoin account where the first tranche of ransom was paid, was identified, located and arrested in connection with the crime.
The police public relations officer (PPRO), Delta State Police Command, and SP Edafe Bright, confirmed the issue.
Reacting to the arrest, Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Abaniwonda Olufemi, urged parents to be more committed to the upbringing of their children, noting that children who are improperly brought up become a problem to the parents in the days ahead.
He also urged youths to avoid the get-rich-quick syndrome, noting that crime does not pay.
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