The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, on Saturday alerted members of the public, especially those who have loved ones abroad, of a new scheme by scammers who impersonate its officers.
The agency said the new scheme involves the scammers calling unsuspecting citizens to inform them of the arrest of their relatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos or any other international airport in Nigeria with illicit drugs upon arrival in the country.
This was made known in a statement by Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy.
He disclosed that after throwing the family members into panic, they then demand millions of naira to facilitate the release of such persons from custody.
Babafemi said: “We have thwarted a number of such bids in the past when the family members called the Agency’s official contacts for help or clarification.
“At the moment, there is one of such scenarios the Agency has just investigated. In this case, the picture of a Nigerian man based in the US is being circulated with an audio of a purported NDLEA officer negotiating the payment of N5 million with a female relative for the release of the US-based Nigerian man purportedly arrested at the Lagos airport on Friday 22nd March upon his arrival with a ‘contraband’
“Just like in previous instances, our investigation has also shown that the current incident is the work of scammers. No NDLEA officer is involved in the audio conversation and the person whose photo is attached to the audio recording being circulated is not in our custody at MMIA or any of our Commands either as at yesterday or any other day.”
The NDLEA’s spokesman said the family members involved in this case are advised not to part with their hard-earned money to scammers.
He further urged Nigerians with loved ones abroad to keep discussions on travel plans of their relatives to themselves to avoid the hijacking of such by criminal elements for devious schemes.
NDLEA said those who may have a similar challenge, should feel free to seek help or clarification through any of these contact lines: +2347064670026 and +2348033326327.