Man caught with 17 ATM cards in Ogun

…says he was only trying to raise N200,000 for his father’s burial

Bankole Taiwo, Abeokuta

An alleged fraudster, Kelvin Odion who specialised in swapping  ATM of unsuspecting victims after which he would then use the stolen ATM cards to siphon the hard earned money of his victims, said he took to this crime last year December to raise 200,000 as his own contributions for the burial of his father in Edo State.

Kelvin who was said to have been arrested at Ijebu Ode with 17 ATM was among other 58 criminal suspects paraded on Wednesday at Ogun state police command, Eleweran, Abeokuta for various offences ranging from cultism, kidnapping, armed robbery, attempted murder among others.

Kelvin who told our Correspondent that he was into selling of shoes at Mandillas, Lagos State said that he decided to take to defrauding people using their stolen ATM cards all in a bid to raise N200,000 as his contributions for the burial of his father.

He said he actually regretted taking to the business of swapping people’s ATMs with the sole intention of siphoning their money explaining that he would have exercised some restraint if he had known that he would be caught this soon

He said he had just gotten N95,000 from the criminal activities when he was arrested by the police.

Speaking on the alleged fraudster, the Commissioner of Police, CP Edward Awolowo Ajogun said the suspect had succeeded in swapping ATM cards of two persons and siphoned the sum of N40,000 and N55,000 from the victims.

Ajogun said, “The suspect however ran out of luck when one of his victims sighted him in another bank trying to swap another person’s ATM card. The victim raised alarm and he was promptly arrested.”

The police boss disclosed that the suspect was arrested with 17 different ATM cards.

The Commissioner, however, warned criminals to relocate from the state, saying the police would continue to ensure that no part of the state is conducive for criminals.

Paraded also were 25 suspected members of a cult group said to have been arrested during an initiation ceremony in Abeokuta

Ajogun, disclosed that the suspects were arrested alongside three herbalists who conducted the initiation.

Apart from the cultists, 34 other suspects were paraded for crimes such as rape, kidnapping, murder, armed robbery and fraud.

Ajogun explained that the cultists were arrested following intelligence report that some cult members were planning to unleash mayhem on members of the public after conducting an initiation rite for new members in Ita-Oshin area of Abeokuta.

He disclosed that the police recovered battle axes, cutlasses, weed, suspected to be Indian hemp and regalia of their group.

The police boss also paraded three murder suspects; Ugo Obi, Chinozo Jude and Chibuike Samson for allegedly beating a 23-year-old man, Samuel Ajibade to death over alleged phone theft.

According to the CP, the trio pounced on the victim and beat him to death for allegedly stealing two mobile phones belonging to one of them.

The police also paraded one Tunde Bello, a taxi driver who allegedly abducted and raped a 29-year-old lady.

Ajogun said the suspect abducted the victim while on her way to work in September, 2020 and collected N140,000 before she was released.