Operatives of the Nigeria Police, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) command have arrested six suspects who allegedly specialized in selling registered sim cards to kidnappers and other criminals in the nation’s capital.
Addressing journalists while parading the suspects, commissioner of police in the FCT, CP Benneth Igweh, said the suspects, identified as Ndubuisi Okeh; John Jock; Nafiu Tijani (a dispatcher); Nasiru Sulaiman; John Njoku and Suleiman Musa were arrested by a team of detectives from the state intelligence department (SID) led by ACP Mohammed S. Baba.
He said the arrest of the suspects followed on acting credible intelligence information by the SID detectives. According to the police chief, the suspects specialized in the sales of already registered sim cards to criminals that operate with other people’s identity to avoid being traced or tracked through their own details at the price rate between ₦3,000 and ₦5,000 per each sim card.
The commissioner said, “On May 29, 2024, at about 3:00 pm, a team of detectives from the State Intelligence Department led by ACP Mohammed S. Baba, acting on credible intelligence, lured and arrested six suspects namely: Ndubuisi Okeh, John Jock; Nafiu Tijani (a dispatcher); Nasiru Sulaiman; John Njoku and Suleiman Musa Who specializes in the sales of already registered sim cards to criminals who operate with other people’s identity to avoid being traced or tracked through their own details at the price rate of three to five thousand naira.”
“It may interest you to know that four different numbers could be registered under a single NIN, hence, these criminals employ street sim card vendors to get the details of unsuspecting residents who buy sim cards and register at the same time.
“Over one thousand, one hundred already registered sim cards, three registration machines, and other gadgets were recovered from the suspects. The suspects have all confessed to the crime and will be charged to court at the conclusion of the investigation,” he added.
