The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has raised an alarm about scammers who it said are impersonate officers of the agency to demand money from citizens whose loved ones are based in foreign countries.
The Director of Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters Abuja, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday, adding that these scammers often claim to have arrested loved ones who arrived in Nigeria with illicit drugs.
He said, “The NDLEA wishes to alert members of the public especially those who have loved ones abroad to a new scheme by scammers who impersonate NDLEA officers and call unsuspecting citizens to inform them of the arrest of their relatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos or any other international airport in Nigeria with illicit drugs upon arrival in the country.
After throwing the family members into panic, the scammers then make a demand of millions of naira to facilitate the release of such persons from NDLEA custody. We have thwarted a number of such bids in the past when the family members called the Agency’s official contacts for help or clarification.
“At the moment, there is one such scenario the Agency has just investigated. In this case, the picture of a Nigerian man based in the US is being circulated with audio of a purported NDLEA officer negotiating the payment of N5 million with a female relative for the release of the US-based Nigerian man purportedly arrested at the Lagos airport on Friday 22nd March upon his arrival with a ‘contraband.’ Just like in previous instances, our investigation has also shown that the current incident is the work of scammers.”
Babafemi further stated that no NDLEA officer was involved in the audio conversation and urged the affected family not to part with their money to the impersonators.
