Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, Airport Police Command, have arrested a 20-year-old suspected internet fraudster, Essien Akpama, over his alleged involvement in a transnational fraud scheme valued at about N1.25 billion and several high-end electronic gadgets.
Akpama was apprehended on January 5, 2026, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, while attempting to board an outbound flight, following months of intelligence-led surveillance by the Command’s Anti-Fraud Unit.
Confirming the arrest, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Command, ASP Mohammed Adeola, said the operation was the culmination of sustained intelligence gathering and close monitoring based on credible information.
“The arrest followed months of painstaking intelligence-led surveillance as part of our commitment to combating transnational crimes and preventing Nigerian airports from being used as escape routes by criminal elements,” Adeola said.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect, who previously resided in Calabar, Cross River State, relocated to Lagos on February 23, 2024, from where he allegedly coordinated multiple fraudulent schemes targeting foreign nationals, particularly in the United States.
According to the police, one of the major incidents occurred in 2024, when Akpama allegedly employed a celebrity impersonation and romance scam to defraud a 47-year-old American woman of $1 million—an amount estimated at over N1 billion.
“The suspect obtained the funds under the false pretext of purchasing property in Florida for an orphanage,” Adeola explained, adding that the transaction was facilitated through a cryptocurrency scheme known as BullRun 2.0, formerly called 4 Way Mirror Money.
Further investigations revealed that the suspect allegedly defrauded another victim, a 70-year-old woman in the United States, of $18,000, estimated at N25,709,400.
The police said the funds were extracted through the purchase of gift cards and high-end mobile phones and computer equipment, which were subsequently shipped to Nigeria at the suspect’s instruction.
Items recovered from the suspect include a MacBook Pro 14-inch, an iPhone 17 Pro Max, two Google Pixel 10 Pro XL devices, and one Google Pixel 10 Pro, with a combined estimated value of N8,141,367.
Police investigations further disclosed that Akpama allegedly posed as a 60-year-old orthopaedic surgeon working with the United Nations in Nigeria, claiming the devices were needed to maintain “secure communication” with his victims.
Reacting to the arrest, the Commissioner of Police, Airport Police Command, Ogunbode Olufunke, Mnips, PhD, reaffirmed the Command’s resolve to curb criminal activities linked to the aviation sector.
“Our Command remains resolute in ensuring that airport corridors are not used to evade justice,” she said.
“We will continue to deploy intelligence-driven operations to detect, disrupt, and dismantle criminal networks operating within and around Nigeria’s aviation ecosystem.”
Source: Punch
