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++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PART 6 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


# THE POLICE OFFICER’S SCAM

Now, the main issue lies in getting the phone from Emma. We spoke that same day that he has the phone with him about how and when we can meet so that I can collect my phone and continue with the investigation on how I will get my full refund back, as he had claimed from the outset.

The phone spent 10 days with Emma, and I started to get impatient after a lot of calls and chats, some he will respond to me anytime he feels like as he claims he is on duty somewhere around Ijebu Ode.

On the 10th day, at around 12 in the afternoon. I called and chatted with him to send his address so that I can come myself to pick up the phone, since he told me he does not have time to send the phone. In fact, he previously told me to send money to him so he could fuel his car and go to the park to send the phone. Emma did not after sending him N10,000.

I left that afternoon with a friend to his location. Well, the journey was a very long one. My friend and I ended up spending close to N40,000 to get to the location for real. 

I met with Emma face to face, and he told me the same story of how he recovered the phone and the way forward so I can get my money back after the real thief is caught. I collected the phone that day and left.

I chatted with Chigozie (Lawrence Chigozie Nwosu), the guy who stood as the middleman between me and Emma, the Police Officer who tracked the phone. I thanked him and then told him, I have gotten my phone back. I then asked him for the mobilisation money I sent to him (this is about N150,000) since the purpose of the money was not utilised, but he never picked up my calls or replied to messages since that day.

Some days passed after a series of calls and messages with Chigozie, and I decided to go to his shop at Ikeja (Computer Village). He owns a phone store there (ACD Gadgets and Communication, located at 10 Otigba Street, Opposite Police Post).

The day Chigozie saw me, he was shocked and was trying to act busy. Long story short, I ended up picking him up with the police (Computer Village Police). I showed chats and played the voice recordings I have on my phone as evidence of the balance in Chigozie’s hand, as mentioned on the phone between Emma and me.

He claimed the balance left is not N150,000, and he was asked to provide proof of payment to back it up. While we were waiting at the station for the proof, I’m very sure he was chatting with Emma to play along. After a while, he could not show anything, and the officer in charge asked to speak with Emma about the balance.

Without further ado, He claimed he collected some cash from Chigozie for some stuff during the tracking; the story did not add up. The balance was brought down from N150,000 to N100,000.

He refunded me some parts that faithful day, even though he had planned with Emma, the tracker police officer, and split the remaining payment for like 2 months or there about. Yes, I was patient.

After I had recovered the balance from Chigozie (ACD Gadgets and Communication, Ikeja), I then proceeded with Emma, asking for an update on the investigation and whether the claimed buyer is back from school, so he can take us to where he bought the phone.

This went on for weeks. Emma kept feeding me different lies and claiming he was out of town. I later suggested that he allow another police officer to take up the case since he is always telling me he is busy.

I demanded that he need speak with the officer that will be taking up the case. I went to a nearby police station to give my statement on the issue and why I need the case be transferred. The officer then requested to speek with Emma on phone; and he promised to act on it immediately. The officer pleaded with me to have a little patience, and some days later, he blocked me. Meaning, he has decided not to retrieve all my money spent.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PART 5 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


# HOW MY PHONE WAS RECOVERED

Fast forward to the next day, and the day after, and the day after, and the day after, I called Chigozie to know if Emma (the police tracker guy) had left Lagos already. He told me to hold on.

Long story short, after a lot of calls, Chigozie decided to link me up with the police guy to get information directly. I saw that as a good idea. It is something I would have asked him since the investigation, but I am the type that doesn't bother if you want to steal a little money from the job, but just get the work done.

I contacted Emma to follow up on the investigation so far. During one conversation, he asked me the amount I had sent to Chigozie; remember that he was the middleman. I told him N200,000. He then revealed that all he had received from Chigozie was N50,000 because the other N150,000 was not later collected from him since they later did not go for the mobilisation as previously discussed. This means that I still have N150,000 in Chigozie’s hand.

He told me not to tell his friend Chigozie about it until the phone has been recovered. 

I asked him why the recovery was not carried out later since the location was discovered, and he said the location had changed from Oshogbo to somewhere in the East. Wow! Are you surprised too?

He suggested I be more patient, that the phone will be recovered soon. 

After some days or weeks of following up with the investigation, Emma would call me at times to send N10,000 or sometimes,  N5,000, which I never did send. His excuses were that he wanted to meet with some other friends of his who would make the tracking faster. I kept telling him that I would need to call Chigozie to send me the N150,000 so I can send him the money; I cannot be pumping money into a course that is not having a head. Anytime I told him this, he would tell me not to worry, that he would find another way.

I have all the proofs in the chats, with some voice recordings.

The extra billing kept coming in different forms and methods until the day he called me the first week of March 2025 to tell me that a soft target was apprehended. He then explained to me what a soft target is. The apprehended person was the current phone user’s girlfriend, and it was when she was released without me being informed earlier that Emma contacted me. He then said that the phone user is in school outside Lagos, writing exams, and has promised to send the phone to him if he could get a smaller phone to get things done with his examinations.

Just as it had happened before, I knew another billing would come in since he confronted me, I then requested a video proof of the phone before sending an extra dime into the headless tracking. He sent me a video of the phone, but how am I sure it was my phone? Mine had a little crack at the back, and this one doesn't. 

It took me hours to replay the same video and compare it with the pictures I took before advertising the phone for sale. While I was doing this, he kept calling me to confirm whether I saw the account number he sent to me. He sent me a GTB (0010279439) account bearing Awanvoedo Austin Bienvenu. The account, according to him, is for the suspect who is currently using the stolen phone.

Emma told me the current user of my stolen phone said he needed a small phone for exams, as I have stated earlier; okay, how much phone are we looking at here? I asked him. He requested that I send N100,000 to the account and that I can pay half now and the remaining half after he has gotten his hands on the phone if I doubt him. However, I will get all the money I have spent on this investigation back, and the phone user will take him to where he had purchased the phone when he is back in Lagos after his examinations.

I then sent N50,000 to GTB (0010279439) Awanvoedo Austin Bienvenu account that morning. And after like 4-5 hours, I got a call from Emma, the police phone tracker. Immediately I saw his call, I knew there was good news about my phone. He then told me he now has the phone in his possession and that I can send the remaining N50,000 to the account he gave me. I sent the balance to him as discussed.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PART 4 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


# TRACKING THE STOLEN PHONE

The next day, after my phone was stolen, and my friend, #Lagbaja, was back, we went back to the hotel to see if we could get a picture of the thief's face from their CCTV. On getting to GRACE PARADISE FIFINE GARDEN HOTELS in Liasu, Ikotun, it turns out all the cameras in the hotel were not working, according to the manager. I had already explained what had happened a day before to the manager.

The manager was there in the bar the day my phone was stolen, by the way. Before leaving the hotel, the manager claimed the person who stole the phone used to be one of their customers until he started lodging without paying. Talking to the manager looks a bit hopeful about catching the thief.

I decided to push towards tracking the iPhone (it won't be an easy task because I already logged out of my iCloud from it). #Lagbaja then linked me up with someone he knew in Computer Village, Ikeja, whom I knew personally before (I once patronised him and also got a car for his younger brother). I will be addressing the Ikeja guy by his real name, Chigozie (Lawrence Chigozie Nwosu). He stood as the middleman between me and the Tracker Police Officer (SAMUEL GBENUPO EMMANUEL 08166400845), Emma.

All transactions passed through Chigozie to Emma, the tracker guy. I sent N50,000 to Chigozie to kick off the tracking. Later, after too much pressure on Chigozie (the middleman), he told me the phone had been tracked to a location in Oshogbo. Wow! That’s great news!
How do we go about getting it?

I put a call through to Chigozie to discuss the next action. He told me what Emma, the tracker guy, told him about mobilising other police colleagues. Emma said he can't go alone, and he will need about 2 to 3 other Police colleagues with him; they will need to lodge and speak with the head of the nearest Police Station closest to where the phone was tracked to for permission to apprehend the thief. or the current phone user, in case the phone had been sold to a new user.

Aside from the initial N50,000 that was sent earlier to begin the tracking, I sent another N150,000 (yes, one hundred and fifty thousand naira) for mobilisation alone. Emma, through his chat with Chigozie, promised that he and his colleagues will act on the matter immediately and that all money I am spending on the tracking will be paid back after the thief has been apprehended.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PART 3 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


##### THE SCAM

I got to understand from our conversations that his alleged girlfriend, lodged in a hotel in Liasu Road, Ikotun (GRACE PARADISE FIFINE GARDEN HOTELS), will be signing out soon just to avoid additional charges or auto-renewal. I never asked how he got to know my friend (#Lagbaja), who referred him to me. Liasu is a popular location in Ikotun, and the distance between where we were is very close. So, instead of waiting for the transaction to drop, we agreed he can use a stone to kill 2 birds; since he came with a driver, we can go to the hotel together to pick up his girlfriend.

While I was in the back seat of the car, sitting alone, I kept on refreshing my bank app and checking my balance with USSD code (using the USSD code that day was a pain in the ass). That day, being a Monday and not just any Monday, the first Monday in a year, a day when every business will resume. I expected such delayed behaviour from my bank, and probably a network issue from most banks.

I did not see the transfer even after getting to the hotel. I asked him to show me the receipt again, and he did. Everything looks okay to me. The car was parked by the entrance of the hotel.

After a few moments in the car while the phone was still with the Buyer (Mr. T), I stepped out to check again using an available POS across the hotel. While I was inputting my PIN, he also stepped out of the vehicle, making a fake call on his phone; I guess.

While I was still in this small POS shop to confirm the transfer, he then acted as though his alleged girlfriend was on her way, coming out of the hotel with luggage. The POS still shows that there is no new transaction. After about 10 seconds that Mr. T went in pretending to help his girlfriend with her bags out of the hotel, something struck me to go inside because the phone was still with Mr. T. I made a swift move into the hotel premises. I found the reception easily, I went straight into it and met a lady at the reception. I asked her about the person who just came in there, but she said the only person who came in through the gate not long ago went through the narrow passage behind the reception; the narrow passage leads to the hotel's lounge and bars.

On hearing this, I went out through the passage to locate Mr. T, but no one who looked like him was there. I then saw another gate; the hotel has 2 gates. SHIT! I excalimed and made asked people in the bar area (most are workers there) if they saw a guy who walked out not long ago. Long story short, he had escaped through the other gate. 

I went back to where to car was parked to talk to the Uber driver. The driver claimed he ordered him very close to the restaurant at Ikotun (which means he did not book from Ikeja to Ikotun as I had thought). The driver tried calling him with the number on the Uber app, but it did not ring anymore. I also tried with the number I have with me; it says the phone is switched off. The driver and I had just been scammed.

I immediately called #Lagbaja, who linked us up to confirm if he knew Mr. T or maybe he was a friend too, but I was wrong.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PART 2 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


### HOW MY PHONE WAS STOLEN

I have to be very explicit here for you to understand how everything played out that Monday morning. Remember, I told you #Lagbaja has sold a few gadgets for me in the past, most of which were sold to his friends. So when he called that morning informing me about the buyer, I believed he was one of his friends also.

Nonetheless, I met with Mr. T at a popular restaurant around Ikotun. I found out he came with Bolt/Uber (the man came in during our conversation to check on him). You know it is a normal thing to factory reset an iPhone before making a payment, just to know it is not a locked phone, or just to confirm if it is factory unlocked. I did the same for Mr. T to show him that it is a factory-unlocked iPhone he was buying. During this course, one must sign out of iCloud, which I also did.

#### THE  PRO-SCAM EVENT

On checking the phone, Mr. T was satisfied. He asked to make a transfer. I gave him my Opay account; it has been a thing with me to use Opay for fast transactions, even if I may decide to transfer out the money received into my other commercial account. Opay is very fast when it comes to transactions like this one. In this case, the amount to be transferred was about 680-700k.

The Buyer, Mr. T, confirmed the Beneficiary's name (my name), then afterwards he said he wouldn't be able to transfer all at once due to his account limitation. He then asked if he could do it in batches. Well, "okay", I said.

One excuse led to another, then I was forced to use my GTBank account being since we had already wasted enough time in the eatery without buying anything reasonable, from physical inspection to formatting the phone. He reconfirmed the name, which I nodded was correct. Then he showed me a transaction receipt on his phone. I usually don't fall for you showing me a transaction receipt, but until I confirm from my end. In the case of GTBank, due to delays in their transactions, you all could even testify to it that there are times you will get a transaction SMS over 24 hours. It is a norm with most commercial banks in Nigeria.

We waited for about 20 minutes for the transaction to drop in my account while engaging in friendly conversations.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PART 1 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



## THE NIGHTMARE 

---

I got a call from #Lagbaja on the 6th of January, 2025 (Monday morning) that, among the gadgets he posted, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is wanted. As of this time, #Lagbaja is out of town and on his way to Ogun State for an assignment.

He shared the buyer's contact with me, and we should connect and meet somewhere conducive for a smooth transaction. 

I will be addressing the Buyer as Mr. T. So, I called Mr. T, and he said he is on his way from Ikeja to Ikotun, which is usually about a 30 to 1-hour trip. Then I know Mr. T is a very serious and ready buyer. I immediately started backing up all my files and docs on my laptop (the phone was being used as my personal phone), so I could migrate them to another phone after the upcoming transaction is successful.

# THE INTRO

It all started around December 2024 when a friend (#Lagbaja) asked if I could lend him some cash to sort out a pressing issue—around 300–400k. I told him I had just used the money on me to secure some gadgets, which I usually resell after a short while. I run this as a side gig: I secure gadgets from people who need quick cash and sell them later. Then I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea if he could post a few gadgets for sale on his status and timeline so he could raise the money after selling any of them. He agreed to the suggestion.

I had sold a few gadgets through him in the past, mostly bought by his friends or friends of friends.

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This is my personal experience with a phone thief in Lagos and a Nigerian police officer (SAMUEL GBENUPO EMMANUEL 08166400845, emmanueljames5890@gmail.com) who scammed me.

This is going to be a long and arduous ride. Grab some popcorn and a chilled drink.

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