A mother of four, Mrs Chika Nwoko, is among members of a syndicate arrested in Enugu for allegedly swapping and defrauding a man of N495, 000 while pretending to help him withdraw money from an automated teller machine.

Their arrest was effected by the police operatives of the Enugu State Police Command’s Hawk Tactical Squad in conjunction with the troops of the Nigerian Air Force, Enugu, on 06/05/2023 at about 4.30pm.

This was disclosed by the state police command’s public relations officer, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, in a release made available to THE WHISTLER on Wednesday.

The suspects were identified as Michael Sopuruchi, aged 36; Osinachi Godwin, 18; Moses Ani, 29, and a mother of four, Chika Nwoko, aged 29.

According to Ndukwe, “The suspects were arrested while escaping to their criminal hideout at Emene, Enugu, after they fraudulently stole the ATM card and the personal identification number (PIN) of an unsuspecting 63-year-old-male victim, while pretending to assist him to withdraw money from a commercial bank ATM along Ogui road, Enugu.

“Immediately after the switcheroo, the suspects used the card and PIN to withdraw the total sum of four hundred and ninety-five thousand naira (N495,000.00) from the victim’s account.”

Ndukwe said the suspects confessed to the crime, stating that they had carried out many other criminal acts of ATM cards swapping and fraud within Enugu metropolis.

According to him, the suspects were arraigned in court on Tuesday where the magistrate ordered that they be remanded at the Enugu Custodial Centre, while the case is adjourned to 07/06/2023 for further hearing.

Meanwhile, the state commissioner of police, CP Ahmed Ammani, while commending the joint operatives for bringing the criminal syndicate to book, called on bank customers, particularly the elderly and those without proper knowledge of how to use ATM of banks, to exercise caution and seek the assistance of bank staffers while using their cards on ATM.