Senegal swoop on e-mail scammers
By Tidiane Sy
BBC News, Dakar



Eight people have been arrested in Dakar after an e-mail scam involving
hundreds of thousands of US dollars.
The money was allegedly extorted from at least one US citizen and a
Norwegian national.

They thought they were going to get their share in a million dollar
inheritance from a son of the late Congolese President Laurent Kabila.

Senegalese police believe the list of victims is much longer, and
investigations are still going on.

The police say the victims were lured by an offer made through the internet
by a Dakar-based cyber-gang pretending to be in possession of $12m.

The suspects - six Nigerian men and two Senegalese women - allegedly told
their victims they needed cash upfront in order to make these funds
available.

Academic

The US citizen is presented by the local media as a top academic who had
invested $350,000 in the operation.

However, the press services of the US embassy would not confirm his
identity.

According to the police, the mastermind of the operation is a Nigerian
national posing as the son of the late President Kabila of the Democratic
Republic of Congo.

One of the two women in the gang is the leader's wife.

Frozen

The bank accounts of the Senegalese nationals were used to transfer
thousands of dollars from the victims.

Police say these accounts, which contain millions of CFA francs, have now
been frozen.

During the operation, started at the end of last year and concluded only
last week, the police seized millions of CFA francs in cash, a luxury car,
several computers and other electronic equipment.

The police say they believe many others might already have fallen into the
gang's trap and hope these silent victims will now show their faces.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/4509837.stm

Published: 2005/05/03 14:42:32 GMT

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