Essien Emmanuel Akpama, a 20-year-old Nigerian has been arrested by the police at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, over an alleged international romance scam valued at more than N1 billion.
In a statement on Tuesday, Mohammed Adeola, spokesperson of the airport police command, said Akpama was apprehended on Monday, January 5, by officers of the anti-fraud unit while attempting to board a flight.
Adeola said the arrest was the result of “months of intensive intelligence-led surveillance and monitoring based on credible information”.
Akpama is accused of defrauding multiple victims in the United States through romance and celebrity impersonation scams, with losses amounting to over one million US dollars.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect, who previously resided in Calabar, Cross River State, relocated to Lagos State on February 23, 2024, from where he coordinated and executed several fraudulent schemes,” the statement said.
According to Adeola, one victim, a 47-year-old woman in the US, was deceived into transferring one million dollars after Akpama claimed the funds were for purchasing a Florida property to house orphans.
The police said the funds were solicited through a cryptocurrency investment scheme named “BullRun 2.0”, formerly known as “4 Way Mirror Money”.
Adeola added that Essien Emmanuel Akpama impersonated “a 60-year-old United Nations orthopaedic surgeon based in Nigeria” and claimed he needed encrypted devices to maintain communication, a ploy used to extract more funds.
The suspect is also alleged to have defrauded a second US victim, a 70-year-old woman, of N25,709,400 (approximately $18,000) through purchases of gift cards, luxury smartphones and laptops, later shipped to Nigeria.
Recovered items include:
MacBook Pro 14-inch
iPhone 17 Pro Max
Two Google Pixel 10 Pro XL
One Google Pixel 10 Pro
The electronics are valued at N8,141,367.
Adeola said the case has been transferred to the Nigeria Police Force Special Fraud Unit for further investigation, adding that Akpama will be charged to court upon conclusion of the probe.