Chigozie Obiekwe and his siblings
wanted to make their mother happy
after she just lost her husband. They
believed that if she was shown
affection, she would think less about
the loss of their patriarch. So, they asked her to mention something her children could do for her and she gladly asked for a car as a gift. Pronto, the children tasked themselves and started raising money. Meanwhile,
Chigozie, who is an entrepreneur based in Enugu, took it upon himself to shop for a good car for their mother.
He chose to surf the Internet in search
of a good offer. When he stumbled on a website purportedly owned by the
Nigeria Customs Service, on which
impounded cars ready for sale by
auction were displayed.
Obiekwe could hardly believe his luck
when he found out that a 2010 Toyota
Camry on the website was being offered for N400,000. Ordinarily, such a car costs almost N3m in the open market.
The young man swiftly got in touch with one Mike, who was listed on the website as a Customs officer and the contact for the cars, with a telephone number beside his name.

Obiekwe told Saturday PUNCH, “I came about the website where exotic cars especially Toyota Camry models were displayed. The cars were labelled as those impounded by the Customs
Service and put up for auction. I
checked and saw contacts of one Mr.
Mike of Seme Border Customs Service,
as the main man.
“I called Mike who identified himself as a Customs officer and he said the
auction would close by January 9. He
said I could pay some money into the
account of his boss the following day so that the car would be delivered to me in Awka.”
Obiekwe said he did some background
checks, in order to avoid falling prey to
fraudsters.
“I also checked up one Mr. Ogunmola
from among a long list of car dealers
doing business with the Customs. I
called a Customs officer at the same
Seme border and he confirmed that the auction was indeed ongoing but that he was on leave.
“But he said I could do business with
Mike as a genuine Customs officer.
Based on this assurance, I paid in
N100,000 as deposit into one Alhaji Ali
Musa’s bank account in First Bank, as
supplied by Mike.”
Obiekwe found the condition of the
transaction very liberal and reassuring.
Mike told Obiekwe that he could make a part payment after which the car would be delivered to him in Awka on the same day of payment. Then, he could drive the car for a week and pay the balance, if he was satisfied.
“After payment was confirmed by Mike, he supposedly instructed a driver, Mr. Muhammed, to deliver the car to my location in Awka. Apart from the money I paid into the bank account, Mike made me to send recharge cards worth N10,000 to him and Muhammed, the purported driver.
“Then, he cut off contact with me. He
refused to pick my calls anymore. After 24 hours had elapsed without the car being delivered to me, I began to fear that I might have been swindled by a Customs officer,” he stated.

Unknown to him, he had just been
conned by an organised fraud
syndicate. Checks by Saturday PUNCH revealed that the website in question, http://nigeriacarmart.com/used_car-9327-Toyota_Camry_lx.html, is a cloned form of nigeriacarmart.com that deals in cars and after sales services.

Obiekwe promptly petitioned the
Inspector-General of Police, Mr.
Mohammed Abubakar, and contacted
Saturday PUNCH about the suspected
swindle.
Our correspondent then posed as
someone seeking an impounded car to
buy. Saturday PUNCH contacted Mike
and he turned out to be a soft-spoken
man who identified himself as a
Customs officer in charge of cars
impounded by the service.
He first of all enquired whether our
correspondent had a voter card or a
driver’s license. When told that a
driver’s licence was available, he said
that was okay.
“I will use it to do your registration but
right now, you have to call me back
because we are in a meeting concerning the auction,” he said over the telephone.
Before hanging up, he did not fail to ask our correspondent the brand and model of car he wanted. During a subsequent chat, he said our correspondent would be required to pay the sum of N20,000 for the driver who would drive the car from the Abuja office of the Customs
Service.
He also said a part payment would be
required for the car.
Cars displayed on the website included different types and models of Toyota Camry and the highest cost. N400.000 in auction sales. Ordinarily, such cars are sold for millions in the open market.
Our correspondent requested a 2009
model Camry, with a price tag of
N300,000. He also agreed to make a
N100,000 part payment, in addition to
the N20,000 for the driver.
“The driver will bring the car but apart
from paying his fee, you will have to
make a part payment for the car. You
will get the car if you pay tomorrow
early in the morning.
“Then, you can drive it for one week and if you are satisfied, you will then pay the balance.
“I will give you details of my boss’
account when you call me very early
tomorrow Tuesday,” he said.
Mike was the first person to call our
correspondent the following day. After
sending details of the bank account by
SMS, he advised our correspondent to
pay by 8am so that the driver could
start heading to Lagos from Abuja.
Meanwhile, when he asked where our
correspondent would like to take
delivery of the car, a location on the
Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was
suggested as the most convenient spot.
“Pay on time so that our oga (boss)
would approve the sale of the car. Then I can tell Muhammed (driver) to start coming from our Abuja office,” he said.
Almost one hour after, Mike called to
find out whether the money had been
paid into the account he sent. But our
correspondent told him that his ATM
card was not available for use and that
he was caught in traffic.
His calls became hourly and at a point,
he informed our correspondent that a
lady was putting his boss under
pressure to sell the same car to her.
“A lady is ready to pay and have the car but I am telling oga that you will soon pay. So let me know as soon as you pay so that the driver can start coming,” he said in an impatient tone on the telephone.

But each time he called, our
correspondent pleaded for more time to raise the cash. At a point, he asked our
correspondent to do a bank transfer.
He later sent a text message which
read, “What is the situation of things?
Alhaji wants to sell the car and give you
another one. What do you think since
you couldn’t pay today?”
The bank and the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission were
swiftly tipped off and they proceeded to
apprehend the suspected swindler.
The account was promptly frozen on
Wednesday and when Musa went to one
of the bank’s branches in Minna, Niger
State to find out the reason for the
action, he was immediately arrested
and handed over to the police.
He was eventually transferred to the
EFCC and moved to its headquarters in
Abuja.
Even up till Monday morning when
Obiekwe was speaking with our
correspondent, he was miffed that men
of the Customs Service could defraud
him in the guise of selling a car to him.
But he was devastated when our
correspondent told him that those who
received the money from him were not
Customs officers but suspected con-
men.
He said, “I am very devastated to say
the least. Right now, I am at a loss
because apart from N100,000 that I
paid for the car, I lost N10,000 worth of
airtime.
“I am also with all necessary evidence
to support my case, including recorded
telephone conversations between the
so-called Customs officers and myself
as well as a copy of the webpage where
they photographed themselves in
Customs uniform advertising the said
cars as purportedly authorised by the
Federal Government,” he said.
Attempts to reach the Customs Service
were not successful as calls made to the
telephone line of the NCS Public
Relations Officer, Mr. Wale Adeniyi, did
not go through.
But a top shot in the service who spoke
with our correspondent in confidence
said the Customs Service is daily
inundated with complaints by
individuals who fall victim of the antics
of scammers posing as Customs
officers.
The source told our correspondent, “I
don’t have to tell you that the case you
have just narrated is a fraud case. We
receive complaints of this nature
everyday but we tell people that there
is a standard for auctioning vehicles in
the service. But I pray people will listen
to us and stop falling victim of fraud
and robbery.”

Spokesman for the EFCC, Mr. Wilson
Uwujiaren, said the suspect was still in
the custody of the agency.
“He is with us and we are currently
investigating the matter,” Uwujiaren
said.
SOURCE: www.punchng.com/feature/saturday-people/customs-officer-duped-me-says-man-who-wanted-to-give-mum-a-car-gift/

...

When will nigerians learn!? Any business involving "send recharge card" is fraud!


Pay part time and drive the car for a week??
Awuf I always say will kill nigerians!

Nigeria!