'We printed fake dollars after falling victim to fraudsters'

AKINWALE ABORISADE


They had allegedly fallen prey to fraudsters. Years later, they decided to take to the illegal business of minting fake dollars for people. But the trio were apprehended by the police before they started the business, writes AKINWALE ABORISADE.


AT a glance, it is easy to conclude that the three men are respectable gentlemen. Their ages, gait and polite nature are good enough reasons to lure anyone into believing they are up to something good. And their discreet method of selling their business ideas to whoever comes their way was almost perfect to trap their victims into having a deal with them.

But Mother Luck ran against them sooner than later. The three Smart Alecs were caught while their ideas were still at gestation stage.

Kazeem Lateef, 39; Tunde Adeniji, 45; and Segun Adetunji, 58; aka Baba Ijesa, are suspected money doublers, who specialised in printing fake dollars. The three met in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, some years ago and have ever since related as close associates. A few months ago, they decided to operate the illegitimate business in order to keep body and soul together, and raise money with which they "could set up legal and profitable ventures."

The men said that they concluded that money doubling would be lucrative because it could easily attract many clients who might be yearning to get rich quick. Their thinking was that many Nigerians jostling to travel abroad in search of greener pastures are doing so for economic reasons. To this end, they thought that many would prefer a cheaper means of earning hard currencies without having to go through the strain of perfecting travel documents and toiling abroad in the chilly and hazy weather.

They decided to go about deceiving people that they could print the US dollar (currency) notes using a "newly-evolved local technology." To achieve their plan, the suspects opened an office in the Sango area of Ibadan and furnished it tastefully in order to meet the expectations of the unsuspecting clients. They printed some fake dollar notes having a close semblance to the US $100 notes. Also, they cut some pieces of wood into size of the dollar notes and wrapped them (the pieces of wood) with paper to look like bales of money.

They arranged them carefully so that they could easily deceive their clients with the fake bales of money. They took time to rehearse how they would talk like big men, how to interview their clients and the answers to give in case they were questioned. The rehearsal, according to them, is necessary in order to perfect their scheme.

The trio had decided to launch their business in the first week of May, but were arrested before they could do so. A team of police detectives from Sango Police Station, Ibadan, led by a female sergeant, Kemi Urie, arrested the three suspects in the early hours of May 1, 2010.

According to the police, some members of the public had informed them of some criminal activities going on in one of the office apartments in the building, which is situated close to the main gate of the Polytechnic of Ibadan. Security men were put on surveillance of the premises and later went in around 11 pm after obtaining a search warrant.

The suspects were dislodged from the premises and taken to the station for interrogation. They confessed that they opened their office to begin the money doubling business. But they said that they had not started operation and had not duped anybody as at the time of their arrest. According to them, they had taken their time to set up the business and put in place all necessary materials so that nobody could suspect that they were into production of fake dollars for the people.

Recovered from the office were 72 (pieces) of fake $100 denomination and two slices of wood carved in money shape. During interrogation, the suspects said that they were lured into the business because each of them had been duped by bands of fraudsters at one time or the other in the past.

Adetunji, popularly called Baba Ijesa or Pastor, is a native of Ilesa in Osun State. Baba Ijesa, a commercial bus driver, who allegedly owned three cars, which he used for transportation, said that he was duped by a group of 419ners. He said that the imposters had lied that they were going to introduce him to a business that could turn around his fortune.

He fell to their pranks and sold all his cars to raise money for the business. It was too late however before it dawned on him that he had been duped. "All efforts to track down the suspected fraudsters failed. I was ruined and became poor to the extent that I started living from hand to mouth," he told the police.

Lateef, a trained carpenter, said that he was recently duped of the sum of N120,000. Things became so bad for him thereafter since that was his life savings. As a result of this, he said that he could no longer think straight. He went borrowing and toiled in order to get back to his feet, but things went from bad to worse thereafter.

Lateef, a native of Ibadan, who said that he became a laughing stock to people in his neighbourhood as a result of his ordeal, met Pastor and Adeniji, his partners in crime, a long time ago. Having been interacting as friends for some time, they agreed to toe the illegal line of business for survival.

Adeniji, a native of Erio-Ekiti, Ekiti State, said that he was once duped and so decided to play a fast one on unsuspecting members of the public. According to the trio, their decision to venture into the illicit trade was as a result of greed. They said that they had fallen into the traps of fraudsters in the past as a result of their inordinate desire to be rich.

The Divisional Police Officer of Sango Police Station, Sybil Akinfenwa, said that investigations into their case showed that the men's conduct indicated that they were criminals. She said that the caretaker of the building where their office was located said that some people in the neighbourhood were suspicious of their moves. "But they told me that they wanted to use the office as warehouse for plastic products, which they planned to venture into," the caretaker said.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Ms. Olubisi Okuwobi, traced the men's attitude to the "get rich quick syndrome" by the people. She noted that many people had wrongfully attributed high value to money, saying, "Many are of the belief that human success is based on the amount of money that he has in his pocket. This should not be the case, but painfully the society has a wrong perception and that is why we now have people across ages struggling to be rich at all cost and through any available means."

In a related development, one Dayo Adejumo was on May 9 arrested by a team of police at Idi-Arere area of Ibadan, Oyo State for the illegal possession of fake naira notes. The police record shows that Adejumo, 20, had just been released after serving a one-and-a-half years jail term.

Recovered from him was fake N500 notes totalling N3,000. Following police investigation, other members of his gang, including 34-year-old Dauda Lawal, Bayo Lala, 19, and Tunde Oladimeji, 21, were also arrested. Found on them were other sets of N500 all adding up to N10,000.

Buhahahahah!

How do we (the so-called masses) blame our corrupt leaders when we do the exact same, if not worse, type of corruption?

Thanks they've bn caught

Corruption is a way of life in nigeria.Most of these criminals were also victims,nevertheless their actions are unjustifiable

SLIGHT:

Corruption is a way of life in nigeria.

No,
Corruption is Yoruba peoples way of life, it is inside their DNA, they succeeded in spreading it all over the country.
Corruption is in Yoruba and Yoruba is in Corruption,

The only person that should see this is bk/babe97