Brigadier Jamal Salem Al Jallaf, Director of Criminal
Investigation Department (CID) at Dubai Police said Hushpuppi and his gang were
planning a $435million cyber fraud on a global scale, before they were busted.
Al Jallaf told Gulf Today, that the simultaneous raids of
Hushpuppi and his gang yielded incriminating documents, which have since been
confiscated.
Both Gulf Today and UAE National published salacious details
of the arrests of the 12-man gang of fraudsters, led by Raymond Igbalode Abbas,
also known as Hushpuppi.
Also arrested with him was Olalekan Jacob Ponle aka
“Woodberry”, along with ten other cybercriminals in a special operation.
Here is the story as published by Golf Today:
 |
| Hushpuppi as booked by Dubai police |
Dubbed “Fox Hunt 2”, the operation took down the suspects
for committing crimes outside the UAE, including money-laundering, cyber fraud,
hacking, criminal impersonating, scamming individuals, banking fraud and
identity theft.
Lt. General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, the
Commander-in-chief of Dubai Police, said the arrest of ‘Hushpuppi’, ‘Woodberry’
and ten gang members involved in money laundering and cyber fraud activities,
is another achievement added to the proud record of Dubai police in ensuring
the emirate’s security and safety as well as preserving people’s money and
property.
“Similar to operation ‘Fox Hunt 1’ that took down an African
gang of nine online scammers last February, Op ‘Fox Hunt 2’ is another painful
hit to cybercriminals who try to mess with the world’s security and safety,” he
said.
 |
| Hushpuppi when he was busted by Dubai Police |
Al Marri further reaffirmed the force’s commitment to
foiling cyber fraud and online scams using the latest technology.
“As criminals constantly change their criminal methods,
Dubai Police work tirelessly to qualify elites of officers and employees
specialised in facilitating the latest technologies to tackle emerging and
transnational organised crime,” he said.
The commander-in-chief of Dubai Police also praised the
tremendous efforts made by the force’s teams who arrested the suspects and
mastered the use of modern technologies.
The director of Dubai CID said the raid resulted in
confiscating incriminating documents of a planned fraud on a global scale worth
AED 1.6 billion ($ 435 million).
“The team also seized more than Dhs150 million ($40.9
million) in cash, 13 luxury cars with an estimated value of Dhs25 million ($6.8
million) obtained from fraud crimes, and confiscated 21 computer devices, 47
smartphones, 15 memory sticks, five hard disks containing 119,580 fraud files
as well as addresses of 1,926,400 victims”, he said.
After conducting further investigations and analysing
confiscated electronic devices, Dubai Police investigators uncovered sensitive
information mined by the suspects on individuals and companies overseas
including bank accounts and fake credit cards as well as documents and files
condemning the gangs’ illegal activities.
Synchronised Raids
According to Expert Major General Khalil Ibrahim Al
Mansouri, Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs, the
suspects were caught in a series of synchronised raids by six SWAT teams from
Dubai Police.
“The operation was carried out in a highly professional
manner in terms of planning and execution as well as setting a zero hour to
take down all gang members in the same time,” Al Mansouri said.
Al Mansouri said the operation foiled the gang’s bid to
deceive many people from around the world and steal their money.
He also lauded the efforts of the task force assigned to the
case.
“The investigation teams at Dubai Police have done a great
job in utilising AI-based technologies, including the Criminal Data Analysis
Centre at Dubai Police, to track down the cyber fraudsters,” Al Mansouri said.
Revealing the operation’s details, Brigadier Jamal Salem Al
Jallaf, Director of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Dubai Police,
said that upon receiving the security intel about an African gang involved in
money-laundering and cyber fraud, an investigation team was formed to track down
the suspects, make the arrest and put an end to the gang’s illegal activities
that have been badly affecting individuals and companies overseas and targeting
their bank accounts and credit cards.
“After verifying available information, the team has started
to track the gang including “Hushpuppi”, who celebrated his wealth via social
media platform, under a businessman façade, in an attempt to lure victims from
all over the world,” Al Jallaf said.
Al Jallaf said the anti-cybercrime task force was able to track
the gang members and detect their criminal activities including creating fake
accounts on social media website with fake nicknames, hacking corporate emails
to deceive clients into making money transfers to the gang’s bank accounts.
“The suspects also targeted victims overseas by creating
fake websites for well-known companies and banks in a bid to steal victims’
credit card information and then launder the stolen money,” Al Jallaf
continued.
The director of Dubai CID said the raid resulted in confiscating
incriminating documents of a planned fraud on a global scale worth AED 1.6
billion ($ 435 million).
“The team also seized more than Dhs150 million ($40.9
million) in cash, 13 luxury cars with an estimated value of Dhs25 million ($6.8
million) obtained from fraud crimes, and confiscated 21 computer devices, 47
smartphones, 15 memory sticks, five hard disks containing 119,580 fraud files
as well as addresses of 1,926,400 victims”, he said.
After conducting further investigations and analysing
confiscated electronic devices, Dubai Police investigators uncovered sensitive
information mined by the suspects on individuals and companies overseas
including bank accounts and fake credit cards as well as documents and files
condemning the gangs’ illegal activities.
Fox Hunt 1
Last February, Dubai Police arrested an African gang of nine
fraudsters specialised in cyber scam after they had run 81 fake business across
18 countries around the world.
Dubbed “Fox Hunt 1” the operation revealed a hidden online
fraud network that deceived victims into transferring money in return of job
opportunities. The gang used multiple bank accounts to make money transfers and
deposits totalling more than Dhs32 million ($8.7 million)
The operation prevented the gang from abusing 800,000 email
addresses and foiled their bid to steal Dhs4 billion ($1.08 billion).
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