EIGHT alleged leaders of a so-called Nigerian romance scam, who appeared in court in Cape Town this week, face extradition and the possibility of 42 years in a United States (US) federal prison.
Among those under arrested are two accused who called themselves ‘Lord Samuel S Nujoma’ and ‘Lord Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela’.
According to a press statement by the US department of justice, Perry Osagiede, the founder of Black Axe in Cape Town, otherwise known as the Neo Black Movement of Africa Cape Town Zone, was among those arrested in the raids in Cape Town on Tuesday.
The 52-year-old Osagiede, or ‘Lord Sutan Abubakar de 1st’, as he was known in the group, allegedly founded the notorious group’s Cape Town chapter.
According to American authorities, the group has been running a sophisticated online dating scam and business email compromise scam operation from South Africa since at least 2011, raking in hundreds of millions of rands from victims across the globe.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) estimated that more than 100 people had lost more than N$100 million in romance scams from 2011 to date.
According to a BBC investigation, Black Axe has been banned as a cult in Nigeria where it started in the 1970s as an anti-colonial student organisation.
Authorities around the world have cracked down on the group’s illicit activities. Sources have described Black Axe as a highly organised global organisation which operates across borders.
In Italy it has managed to push the Italian mafia out of former strongholds, and is allegedly associated with drug smuggling and human trafficking.
Osagiede and 45-year-old Enorense Izevbigie, or ‘Lord Samuel S Nujoma’ as he was known in Black Axe, allegedly headed the seven-man leadership core of a much larger crime network.
The other five leaders arrested were Franklyn Edosa Osagiede (37), known as ‘Lord Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela’, Osariemen Eric Clement (35), or ‘Lord Adekunle Ajasi’, Egbe Tony Iyamu (35), or ‘Lord Aminu Kano’, Collins Owhofasa Otughwor (37), or ‘Lord Jesse Makoko’, and Musa Mudashiru (33), or ‘Lord Oba Akenzua’.
The group was believed to be behind hundreds of thousands of romance scams.
These were allegedly perpetrated by members of a syndicate which used dating sites to meet elderly men and women from around the world who were either widowed or divorced, and scammed them out of their money.
The case was postponed until next Tuesday.
– IOL with additional information from timeslive.co.za
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