Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have apprehended one Mr Patrick, a suspected serial fraudster, who employed the deceitful tactic of ‘money doubling’ to swindle innocent victims.
His reign of fraud finally came to an end after defrauding his latest victim, 22-year-old Legbara Barikpega, on May 22, 2024.
He allegedly hypnotised and deceived her along the road at Elimgbu, Obio/Akpor Local Council, convincing her that he could multiply her money, and she, unsuspectingly, handed over N50, which he falsely claimed would produce N2,000.
According to sources, the suspect persuaded Miss Barikpega to gather all the money from her home and her family’s possessions in the village, promising to ‘double’ the amount to fill a sack.
Unfortunately, she fell for his deceit and collected a total of N200,000 from her family home, which she handed over to the suspect, unaware of his fraudulent intentions.
The fraud was reported to the Elimgbu Police Division by Mr Legbara Anthony, the elder brother to the female victim.
Following a thorough investigation and weeks of surveillance, detectives from the Elimgbu Police Division successfully apprehended the suspect at Elimgbu, just as he was attempting to deceive another unsuspecting victim.
The Rivers State Police Command was yet to respond to enquiries on the at press time.