Three Nigerians arrested

Story: Albert K. Salia
THREE Nigerians suspected to have developed a fake website of the Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) and offering a promotion to subscribers of the network have been arrested by the police.
Eradiri Erepamo, alias Samuel Aberepikimi, 27; Orian Frank Ndamati, alias George Smith, 26, both of whom claimed to be students of the Regional Maritime Academy, and Isaac Mandari, 27, unemployed, are currently in custody pending further investigations.
Three mobile phones, six MTN starter packs and identity cards were retrieved from the suspects upon their arrest.
The three had developed a parallel website, www.mtnpromotions.com, offering prizes to unsuspecting persons, mostly foreigners, that they had won Mercedes Benz saloon cars as their prizes.
The three would then inform the alleged winners to provide details of their contact addresses for the shipment of the cars to them.
According to the Deputy Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ken Yeboah, one of the so-called winners was informed that the cost of shipping the car to him was $5,795 but he has to pay an advance processing fee of $950.
He said some of the victims, after paying the money but never receiving their prizes, complained to the management of MTN about the delay in receiving their cars.
He said it was at that point that the victims were told that MTN was not running any promotion here in Ghana.
ACP Yeboah said following the complaints to MTN, the management of the company decided to lodge a complaint with the police to investigate the perpetrators of the crime.
He said the services of a money transfer company was sought to provide a code to be sent to one of the organisers of the fake promotion to collect the processing fee.
According to him, Isaac and Samuel went to collect the money and the police arrested them.
ACP Yeboah said Isaac and Samuel then led the police to arrest Ndamati, who was described as the event organiser.
He said the three suspects had also been linked to other cases being investigated by the Commercial Crime Unit of the CID.