Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested a man it believes is an accomplice of social media star, Mompha, alleged to be involved in cyber fraud.
Morpha, whose real name is Ismaila Mustapha, has been in the EFCC’s custody since about a week ago.
The suspected accomplice,Hamza Kudeih, who is a Lebanese, was arrested at his Eko Atlantic City abode – but not without a tough drama.
According to a report in ‘The Nation’, there was a grand suspense battle of wit and much anxiety during the operation said to have lasted three hours.
The Lebanese was arrested at his N1.8 billion luxury apartment in the 33-storey Eko Atlantic Pearl Tower, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The report adds: “It was learnt that he and his wife refused opening the door to their apartment and also refused responding to appeals by the building’s chief security officer.
The suspect who alongside Mompha and other arrested suspects are allegedly kingpins of a network of cyber criminals who laundered N33 billion through three firms, lived in an apartment which was fortified with triple reinforced fire-proof door and closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras, making it difficult for the operatives to gain entrance.
“However after EFCC operatives gained access into the apartment after trying to break down the door with breaching tools, his wife claimed that her husband had escaped through the window even though they lived in the topmost floor.
Koudeih was said to have been found hiding in the ceiling and a fire-proof safe containing different charms and talismans in calabashes was uncovered after a search was conducted in his bedroom.
“Our officials knew that he was still inside and they were even hoping to persuade him not to jump out through the window because it would be suicide,” EFCC Lagos Zonal Head, Mr. Mohammed Rabo, who confirmed the arrest, told The Nation. Two luxury cars were recovered from the suspect who claimed the charms were his “prayer objects”.
Koudeih and his wife’s immigration status are currently being investigated, while local and international law enforcement agencies are said to have indicated interest to collaborate in the investigation.
The Lagos zonal head of the EFCC, Mohammed Rabo said the operation that led to Koudeih’s arrest was “an offshoot of the collaboration between the EFCC and the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),” but that Koudeih was arrested based on “purely EFCC intelligence”.
