The Ogun State Police Command has discovered a ‘shrine’ at Pokuku village in Abeokuta North Local Government Area of the state which fraudsters use to defraud victims of their money.The State Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Ilyasu, who led reporters to the site, said the police burst, it following a tip – off, adding that it was christened ‘Pokuku Shrine’ by the operators until its discovery last Wednesday.The ‘shrine’ is housed in a two-bedroom mud building tucked in remote parts of the village and contained images, counterfeit foreign and local currencies and other fetish objects.Addressing reporters yesterday, Ilyasu said the shrine was raided by the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) and that one Haruna Moshood who is said to be the ring leader of the gang – owners of the shrine was arrested while others escaped.
“This is a house of horror where different kinds of criminal activities are taking place.“Following diligent and intelligent information of our special operatives, FSARS stormed this horror house and we discovered that it is a receiving end of kidnapped victims.“It is also a place where the suspected kidnappers dispose properties of their victims. And we were able to recover different denominations such as fake dollars and Naira.“By the time we arrive here, we did not see the victims and some of the suspected kidnappers escaped, but we were able to arrest one of the suspect identified as Haruna Moshood.“I appealed to the good citizens of Ogun State to be cautious and careful before they become a preys or fall into such hands,” Iliyasu said.According to the Police Commissioner, many victims must have been duped by the suspect and his accomplices.But 34-year-old Moshood, said he joined the gang in 2015 and that greedy people are usually their victims.“We always play on the greed of the victims, because they were looking for quick money. Again, we also study how wealthy, they were by telling them to bring a certain amount of money.“Assuming we ask a prey to go and bring N100,000 and he succeeds in bringing it, that shows he or she could bring a higher amount. That is how we operate,” he said.
Source : The Nation
