*We were held in underground cells in T&T—VICTIM

By Joseph Undu

Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad, RRS, Lagos State Police Command, weekend, uncovered a fake embassy operating in Lagos and arrested the two Chinese masterminds and two Nigerians.

IGP-Idris

The police team, led by RRS Commander, ACP Olatunji Disu, raided the embassy, located inside a hotel called Golden Point and Suite, on Duduyemi Street, Ejigbo, after many patrons had been swindled by the fraudsters.

Items recovered from them during the raid were 25 international passports, 10 laptops, screw driver, five phones and several documents.

The apprehended suspects were identified as 47-year-old Liu Honyang; 49-year-old Sun Xinai (both Chinese); and their Nigerian collaborators, 47-year-old Oriyomi Olawale and 25-year-old Desmond Chinedu.

Police investigate
According to a source, the operatives acted on intelligence received from members of the public about the activities of the fraudsters.

The police were said to have lodged in the hotel for two days, monitoring their activities before eventually arresting them.

After the arrest, some of their victims stormed the RRS Headquarters, recounting how they were duped, hence their deportation from Trinidad and Tobago.

One of the victims, Adekunle Adefuye, said: “I met these people through one of their agents, Dorcas Sylver. She is a daughter to my brother’s pastor in Abeokuta.

“I told her my intentions to travel to United States of America. Then she told me to come to Lagos that she can procure the American visa for me. On getting to Lagos, she took me to these Chinese, where I was told that I should go to Trinidad and Tobago.

“They persuaded me to go Trinidad and Tobago, saying it was easier to secure employment with at least 3,000 dollars as salary.

“Initially, I declined to take their bait, insisting that I preferred America. But in the long run, they brainwashed me into agreeing to go to Trinidad and Tobago. It was at this point, I was told that I would pay N1.3 million for the whole process, including visa processing and flight fare.

“The payment was made in installment. N376,000 for visa, ticket N850,000, accommodation N39,000 and visa fee N33,000.”

According to him, he and another person were rounded up immediately they got to Trinidad and Tobago, by the country’s immigration officers, for coming into the country with fake visas.

Arrested abroad
He said: “We left Lagos for Lome on October 19. From there to Sao Paulo, Brazil, then to Panama and boarded a plane to Trinidad and Tobago.

“On getting to the country, we were arrested by their security operatives, who accused us of entering their country with fake visa and documents.

“We spent two days underground in police custody. They treated us like criminals. We were locked up for 48 hours before we were deported on October 22 and arrived Nigeria the following day.”

Another victim, Rasheed Ololade, said that it was same agent, Dorcas Sylver, who persuaded him to go to the same Trinidad, for which he paid N1.3 million into her account.

Another victim, Friday Owah, who was at the ‘embassy’ when they were arrested, said that he just paid N600,000 after being convinced to jettison his Europe trip for Trinidad and Tobago.

Also another victim, Lukmon Odeyemi, a footballer by profession, also parted away with N125,000 for a Trinidad and Tobago visa.

Real embassy reacts
Meanwhile, while responding to RRS enquiry, the High Commission of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in a letter dated December 7, and signed by Garth Lamsee, Acting High Commissioner, read in part: “The Mission can categorically confirm that the individual Sun Xinai, who is claiming to be an agent of this mission, is unknown to us.

“Furthermore, this Mission does not use the services of an ‘agent’ in any capacity whatsoever and has never done so in the past either.

“With regard to the authenticity of the attached visas, the mission can also categorically confirm that those visas were not issued at this High Commission and are clearly fraudulent.

“Noteworthy too is the fact that in June 2015, this mission stopped the practice of issuing stamped visas in passports in favour of individual electronic visas issued from our country’s capital Port of Spain.”

The state’s Police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmus confirmed the arrest.