The Police Command in Lagos State has apprehended a 37-year-old man, Nasiru Amidu, over the alleged fraud involving gold valued at N15.4 million.
It was gathered that the suspect is being investigated for alleged obtaining by false pretence and stealing following a complaint lodged by Alhaji Nasiru Salisu, Managing Director of NASS Gold Ventures.
Following the report, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Fatai Tijani, directed that the case be transferred from the Sabo Police Division to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Yaba, for further investigation.
According to a police source, the complanant reported that the suspect approached him on July 14 to purchase gold worth N15,454,600 and promised to transfer the payment after taking delivery of the items.
“The complainant alleged that after collecting the gold, the suspect became unreachable.
“When the suspect was later traced, he allegedly pleaded for another consignment of gold valued at N6 million and promised to pay the outstanding balance of about N9 million.
“The suspect allegedly failed to honour the promise and instead used a similar method to obtain gold from other unsuspecting dealers, ” he said.
The source said efforts were ongoing to establish the full extent of the alleged fraud, identify other possible victims.
According to him, the suspect will be charge to court after the conclusion of the investigation.
The investigation into the allegations is being handled by the Swift Enquiry Team of the SCID under the supervision of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the department, Mr Dayo Akinbisehin.
