A joint operation between the FBI and Spanish police saw the arrest of 310 people in the Malaga area in connection with a EUR100m bogus lottery scam run by Nigerian gangs. The scam claimed at least 20,000 victims in 45 countries including Britain, France, Germany, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and a number of Arabic countries. The operation, codenamed Nile, centred on a gang which operated in the Malaga area of the Costa del Sol. The fraudsters were offering lottery prizes for bogus competitions sent most often by email. They also claimed to be paying out a legacy from an African dignitary through a functionary at a bank. Four hundred officers from the Spanish police, the FBI and the US Postal Service were involved in the operation. Officers raided 166 homes in Málaga, Fuengirola, Benalmádena, Mijas, Torremolinos, Velez-Málaga and Marbella. It is the largest operation ever carried out against Nigerian and Libyan organised crime gangs.| My inbox is breathing a temporary sigh of relief. Hope they collect enough evidence to get the gangs in the mother country. And I wonder what other kinds of networks were run through those computers? |
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