By Jimitota Onoyume

123 suspected internet fraudsters arrested at an estate on the Warri – Sapele road have been paraded by the Delta State Police Command in Ekpan,  Uvwie local government area.

The state Police public relations officer, SP Bright Edafe said investigations revealed that the suspects who were between the ages of 17 and above were allegedly deceived from Kaduna, Ibadan, Akwa Ibom, and several other parts of the state to come and be trained in forex trading and crypto.

He said operators of where the suspects were housed code-named HK ( Hussle kingdom )  recruited agents to also scout for young boys on the Internet that were lured with fake promises to the HK, adding that on arrival their bosses seized their phones and handed them only laptops.

The police spokesman said the HK operators also ensured that the boys were under severe movement restrictions.

His words: “123 suspected internet fraudsters were arrested at an estate on Warri road where they do HK (  Hustle kingdom). They engage their agents to lure unsuspecting boys from 17 years that they want to teach them Forex trade online and crypto business from Kaduna, some from Ibadan, Akwa Ibom, and so on.

“They feed the boys only when they feel like feeding them, they beat hell out of the boys, torture them . They seize their clothes forcing them to even be naked in the house. You can’t quit they tell them.

“They ( the principals ) engage agents to flaunt wealth that is not theirs on social media to lure boys from 17  that they want to teach them crypto and Forex to make money like the agents.

“One that came from Kaduna was the one that alerted the mum with the laptop they gave him.  The mum contacted a military relation that later stormed the place with other personnel. One who did  Arabic studies and wanted to go to Cairo,  Egypt was also lured to the place. He wanted to quit but he was not allowed to  leave. He told them he was an Alfa, that he can’t do what they wanted him to do. But they beat him mercilessly.

“Before the arrest like the others he was not  allowed access to sunlight. He has not spoken to his mum and father.”

The police spokesman advised parents and guardians to monitor their children and wards very closely to ensure they were not lured into strange acts.

“We should continue to monitor our children. We should also  ask  the right questions when our children come home  with strange wealth. “

One of the suspects ,Gideon, said he was 17 years, adding that since he came he was only allowed access to his phone on Sundays.

He said they sleep from 5am till 9pm when they wake up to start surfing the net for those to defraud.

He said their principals fed them twice daily.

” I am Gideon  from Akwa Ibom. We came here to hussle , internet floating . We eat twice daily. We work from 9pm to 5am.  They seize our phones and allow us to call only on Sundays “, he said.