The Rapid Response Squad (RRS) has arrested a 300 level student of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State for allegedly defrauding admission seekers.
Mayaki Best, 25, was accused of cloning the website of Lagos State College of Health Technology and duping several admission seekers of unspecified sums of money.
The police alleged that the suspect also impersonated the Nigerian Customs by pretending to be an auctioneer online.
Best was said to have been apprehended at Auchi last Wednesday after he was tracked to Edo State following a petition from the Provost, Lagos State College of Health Technology, Dr. Moyo Kasim.
Kasim petitioned the Lagos State Police Commissioner alleging that a certain Dr. Odeh Philip Oteche cloned the website of the institution and requested varying sums of money from applicants.
The petition was referred to the Commander RRS, Tunji Disu, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), with a copy of the cloned application and bank details which showed applicants paid N2,500 per form.
According to the police, Best was arrested with three Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards, one of which belonged to Oteche Philip Odeh, the alleged owner of the fraudulent account. The two other ATM cards, the police said, belonged to Abua Sunday. They said unfilled soft copies of Customs papers were also found in his possession.
A police source said: “In his confession to the police, Best stated that he was the brain behind the cloning of the institution’s website and he had withdrawn series of deposits made to the accounts by different applicants.
“He added that he veered into admission racketing when online custom auction of automobile and seized items failed to yield expected returns. Apart from these, the suspect disclosed that he also used local and international dating platforms for scamming.
“Through the cloned website, Mayaki said he had collected deposits ranging from N2,500 to N157,000. He said one Charles and Ganiyu Balogun now at large were accomplices.
“He stated that he opened Access Bank and UBA accounts with Sunday Abua for Nigerian Customs auction vehicles and goods.
“He disclosed that the three Facebook accounts of female Custom Officers he had been using and pictures of automobiles displayed thereon were sourced from Google,” said the police.
The case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence (SCIID), Panti, Yaba.