By AHMED KAIGAMA

The Police Command in Borno says it has arrested four suspects over alleged criminal conspiracy and fraudulent withdrawal of N285,000 from a resident’s account.

The command also recovered 40 OPay and Moniepoint ATM cards from the suspects.

The Command’s Spokesperson, ASP Nahum Daso, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Maiduguri.

Daso said the incident occurred on Oct. 25 when Unus Burum, a resident of Shuwari II, Maiduguri, reported that two young men approached him, claiming to be Moniepoint agents.

He said the victim requested assistance to increase his transaction limit, but the suspects collected his mobile phone and accessed his account.

According to him, N285,000 was subsequently withdrawn from the account without authorisation.

The spokesperson said operatives of the State Intelligence Department (SID) commenced investigations following the report and traced the Point-of-Sale (POS) transactions to the agents involved.

He said further investigations led to the arrest of four suspects, who reportedly confessed to their involvement in the alleged crime.

Daso added that the recovered ATM cards had been retained as exhibits to support further investigations.

He said the Commissioner of Police, Mr Naziru Abdulmajid, reaffirmed the command’s commitment to protecting lives and property and ensuring that perpetrators of crime were brought to justice.

The spokesperson advised residents against disclosing their account details, Personal Identification Numbers (PINs), passwords and One-Time Passwords (OTPs) to strangers.

He also urged the public to prevent unauthorised access to their mobile banking applications and promptly report suspicious activities to the nearest police station.

Daso said appropriate legal action would be taken against anyone found culpable after investigations. (NAN)