Police Smash ₦7.7bn Telecom Airtime Fraud Ring, Seize Houses, 400 Laptops

By Angel Nwaozuzu

The Nigeria Police Force, National Cybercrime Centre (NPF–NCCC) has dismantled a sophisticated cyber fraud syndicate that diverted over ₦7.7 billion in a telecommunications company’s airtime and data resources.

CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, Force Spokesman, disclosed that the breakthrough followed a telecom firm’s petition reporting suspicious billing activities.

He said investigations uncovered compromised internal staff credentials granting hackers core system access.

Coordinated raids in October 2025 across Kano, Katsina, and the FCT nabbed six suspects: Ahmad Bala, Karibu Mohammed Shehu, Umar Habib, Obinna Ananaba, Ibrahim Shehu, and Masa’ud Sa’ad.

He disclosed that the seized items during the raids include: two Kano residential houses and two mini-plazas, GSM/laptop outlets with 400+ laptops, 1,000 phones, Toyota RAV4 vehicle. Substantial sums of money traced to the suspects accounts were also recovered.

“Following weeks of planning, coordinated enforcement operations were executed.
The suspects would be charged to court on the completion of the investigation.” he stated.

Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun commended the officers for their professionalism and reiterates the unwavering resolve of the Nigeria Police Force, through the NPF–NCCC, to safeguard Nigeria’s digital and financial ecosystems.