Operatives of Enugu State Police Command serving in the Ogui Police Division have arrested one Nnamani Joseph, 45, for allegedly defrauding a businessman of 18 bags of rice valued at about N400,000.00.
Spokesperson for the command, Daniel Ndukwe, in a statement yesterday, said Nnamani took the bags of rice under the guise of buying and using them for charity at a church.
According to Ndukwe, the incident which happened on February 14, being Valentine’s Day, saw the suspect go to the premises of a church (name withheld) in Ogui, Enugu, from where he called the businessman (names withheld) on phone, requesting 18 bags of 25 kg bags of rice with the pretence of wanting to use same for charity.
“The businessman accordingly supplied the rice and unsuspectingly followed Nnamani to the bank to receive his payment through bank transfer. But in the course of effecting the payment, Nnamani secretly left the bank, went back to the church, and made away with the bags of rice to an unknown destination.
“The suspect, however, could not run or hide for so long, as police operatives, upon receiving the report, embarked on an intelligence-driven investigation, which led to his arrest on February 20, at Emene, Enugu,” he said.
Ndukwe added that eight out of the 18 bags of rice were recovered from him, after he had re-bagged and sold the other bags at Oye Emene Market, Enugu.
He further stated that the suspect and his cohorts would have a day in court once investigations were concluded.
The police, therefore, advised the citizenry, particularly businessmen and women, to always be security conscious and wary of whom and how they transact in such circumstances, to avoid falling prey to fraudulent suspects like Nnamani.
“Also, person(s) who may have suffered a similar act of fraud by the suspect, were encouraged to report to the mentioned police division to volunteer relevant information, while the investigation lasts,” Ndukwe added.
