By Ola Ajayi

IBADAN—BARELY three years after a kidnappers’ den was discovered at Soka in Ibadan where hundreds of people were reportedly used for rituals, the large expanse of land has again been turned into criminal hideouts where hoodlums swindle foreigners and other innocent Nigerians.

This was disclosed, yesterday, by Oyo State Police Command in an electronic mail.

The suspects

According to the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adekunle Ajisebutu, three suspected fraudsters have been arrested in the bush.

He gave the names of the suspects as Lanre Sadiq, 26; Sunkanmi Daramola, 28, and Opyemi Adebayo, 26, adding that the state police command had been on the trail of the suspects before their arrest, yesterday.

Ajisebutu, who spoke on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Samuel Adegbuyi, said: “The Oyo State Police Command has arrested three internet fraudsters who, until their arrest, were into cyber crime popularly known as Yahoo plus. Their arrest, he said, was made possible following a tip-off by members of the public.”

He added that they were picked up at their criminal hideout at Soka area around 6:30a.m. yesterday by the command’s anti-kidnapping squad.

During interrogation, he noted, the suspects confessed to being internet fraudsters and that they had defrauded many innocent victims, who they referred to as clients.

Exhibits, which he said were recovered from them, include four laptops and charms.