4 Nigerians caught in bogus money scam

The Western Police District (WPD) scored a major victory against organized crime with the neutralization of counterfeit and drug syndicates in separate police operations.

In a media presentation yesterday, WPD director Chief Superintendent Pedro Bulaong identified the foreign members of a counterfeit syndicate as Nigerians Friday Nwoke, Ikenna Agbaegbu, Ugum Igbunam and Henry Obina Nwani.

The foreigners are accused of luring prospective victims in bogus business deals using counterfeit money as their capital, Bulaong said.

The arrested members of a drug syndicate were identified as Nassif Abbas, Jamal Bubong and Binladen Pangandamu, all natives of Mindanao. Seized from the group were 35 plastic packs of suspected shabu weighing two kilos with a street value of P2 million.

Bulaong said the arrest of the Nigerians was based on the complaint of Josefina Espino, a hardware store owner in Quiapo, Manila.

Espino told police that Igbunam came to her store and ordered a container load of welding rods worth P8.9 million, instructing her that the finance minister of Nigeria would pay for the cargo.

A phone call supposedly coming from the Nigerian finance minister asked the victim for her bank account number where the payment will be coursed through.

The victim sensed the sting when another call was made, this time coming from a diplomatic agent from Nigeria, telling her that a package from the finance minister of their country is arriving and that the victim has to shoulder the $1,800 airfreight.

Police soon conducted a stakeout operation at the Manila Hotel where the delivery of the package would take place, resulting in the arrest of the four Nigerian suspects. Authorities recovered from the foreigners a box containing bundles of blackened cut-out bills, chemicals, instruction manuals and an authentic $100 bill.

Police said the suspects tell their prospective victims that the chemicals could change the paper into genuine dollar bills.