“Based on the directive, one Duru was arrested after serious efforts had been made.  Duru, who hailed from Orlu Local Council of Imo State, is a mechanic by training, and has his workshop along Trinity area of Berger Cement, Apapa, Lagos.
 
“When asked about his involvement in the alleged crime, he confessed that he was introduced to the criminal act by his friend, named Kareem, who lives in Ajegunle Area of Apapa, Lagos, in 2019. He has been in the business of criminality since then.
 
“When other members of the syndicate, whose areas of specialisation was to steal mobile phones from members of the public, either through pick-pocket, one-chance robbery, and others means, they bring the SIM cards to Duru, who finds out the bank(s) the SIM cards are linked to, check the account balance, reset the USSD pin and transfer funds from the owner’s account to the ones provided by a member of the syndicate, one Joshua, a.k.a. Alert, who is currently at large.

 
“Joshua takes 20 per cent of the proceeds, and returns 80 per cent, either in cash or transfer to Duru, who takes 40 per cent, and delivers the remaining 40 per cent to whoever brings the BVN/Bank linked SIM card.”
   
Continuing, Hauwa said: “The suspect further confessed that there are others who consult him from Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River States. He said the least he has transferred from an account was N100, 000, while the maximum was N1.4million.
   
“The said Joshua operated many accounts with different banks, and as such, made the funds available for sharing the same day. When asked how many SIM cards he had fraudulently transferred money from, Duru said he averagely worked on six SIM cards in a week, and returned the cards to whoever brought them.
 
“Duru listed Union Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, Fidelity Bank, Eco Bank, Wema Bank and Sterling Bank as banks that are difficult for him to transfer monies from, while he listed United Bank for Africa UBA, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Polaris Bank, Access Bank, Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB) and Stanbic IBTC Bank, as some of the banks he easily transferred from.
 
“Members of the public are hereby advised to beware of these criminal elements and secure their valuables, while criminals are warned to relocate from Lagos and Ogun States, to avoid been caught,” she added.