Police in Lagos have arrested a gang of fake online lovers who lure women on social media such as Facebook and Tinder, kidnap and rob them of their valuables.
They were arrested when one of their victims, a woman (name withheld) was robbed and later murdered by one of the suspects she met on Facebook and developed a romantic relationship with.
The incident happened in the Surulere area of the state with detectives from the Lagos State Command arresting the three men allegedly involved in her death.
According to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Olanrewaju Ishola, the suspects extorted N300,000 from the victim before killing her.
The commissioner said the suspects operate as a gang specialised in using social media platforms, including Facebook, Tinder among others to lure their victims under the guise of having a romantic relationship with them.
He noted the gang mode of operation involves establishing romantic relationships with their targets and later inviting them for a visit after which the target will be kidnapped and money extorted from her.
“It is a case of kidnapping. The case was reported at the Tactical Team of Area C. Consequently, three persons were arrested. The suspects’ mode of operation is to lure their victims through a Tinder app on social media or Facebook where they will make the victim a friend and then ask them to come for a visit,” he said
Citing the latest incident, the CP said the dead victim was lured by the gang.
“In one particular case, the victim was lured to a particular house, and N300,000 ransom was collected from the victim and his phone was taken from him. My detectives swung into action and three suspects were arrested,” he added.
He said the suspects are currently in police custody as investigations continue.