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Hushpuppi: How he stole $435.6 million, captured by Dubai police
The Dubai Police also found out that the gang specialised in hacking organisation’s corporate emails and sending fake messages to clients in order to redirect financial transfers and people’s bank details to their own accounts
BY NICHOLAS ABE
Police authority in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has released details of the operation that led to the arrest of Nigerian international Internet fraudster, Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, popularly known by his Instagram handle, Hushpuppi.
After an investigation that lasted four months, Hushpuppi and 11 other gang members were busted in an operation code-named, Fox Hunt 2.
The Dubai police crept into the apartments of the villains and captured them in the wee hours as they slept.
According to a video issued by the police, investigators tracked every of Hushpuppi’s moves while taking note of his social media postings.
Hushpuppi and his team were said to be known for creating fake pages of existing websites in order to redirect victims’ payments to their own accounts.
The Dubai Police also found out that the gang specialised in hacking organisation’s corporate emails and sending fake messages to clients in order to redirect financial transfers and people’s bank details to their own accounts.
Before their arrest, Hushpuppi and his crew members were said to be responsible for scams amounting to DHS1.6 billion ($435,587,520 USD).
Luxury vehicles owned by Hushpuppi and his gang
READ: EFCC arrests popular Instagram celebrity Mompha for flagrant display of wealth
In the operation, police officers were able to seize items worth more than DHS150 million ($40,836,327 USD) after they claim 21 computers, 47 smart phones, 15 memory storage devices and five (5) hard disks containing data of 1,926,400 victims.
The police also recovered luxury cars said to worth about DHS25 million ($6,806,055 USD) bought by Hushpuppi and his gang, “using money stolen from people who have been scammed”.
The Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri described the operation as another achievement in effort to keep the Emirate safe and secure.
He was quoted on the official Twitter handle of The Government of Dubai Media Office as saying: “The arrest of ‘Hushpuppi’,’Woodberry’ & 10 gang members involved in money laundry & cyber fraud activities, is another achievement added to the proud record of Dubai police in ensuring the emirate’s security and safety.”