Twenty victims of a Ponzi scheme in Ondo State, who were held hostage by a syndicate, have been rescued by the operatives of the state police command.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Wilfred Afolabi, revealed to newsmen at the police headquarters in the state that the victims were allegedly lured into joining a Ponzi scheme called ‘Quest International Company’.
Afolabi maintained that the Ponzi scheme syndicate was busted in the state weeks after a cryptocurrency trading platform, Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX), scheme crashed.
The suspects were apprehended at their operational base in the Oba-Ile axis of the Akure North Local Government Area of the state, where 20 victims held by the syndicate were rescued.
The rescued victims were identified as Rafiu Kehinde ‘m’, Adebayo Nafisat ‘f’, Mohammed Aishat ‘f’, Jesujuwon Osuntoki ‘m’, Mustapha Gbolahan ‘m’, Ibukun Samuel ‘m’, Gbolahan Wasiu ‘m’, Aminu Ifasina ‘m’, Mohammed Sheifff ‘m’, and Adebayo Rohemat ‘f’.
Others include Saheed Ibrahim ‘m’, Ibrahim Adebayo ‘m’, Adebayo Sukurat ‘f’, Olawoyi Wasilat ‘f’, Sholagberu Shakirat ‘f’, One Adeyemi Skukurat ‘f’, Basari Saadiqq ‘m’, and Raji Taofeek ‘m’.
According to the police boss, one of the suspects, Sadiq Zakariya, 26, was arrested following the complaints by some parents from Osun and Oyo States over the sudden disappearance of their children.
Afolabi, who maintained that the victims had been declared missing from their various homes since November 2024, after they were supposedly called up for a job in Akure, introduced to them by their friends, stated that the command’s surveillance team swung into action on April 24, leading to the rescue of the victims.
He said: “During the operation, one Sakariya Sadiq ‘m’ was discovered to be the prime suspect involved in the alleged criminal activities. Victims are allegedly lured into joining a Ponzi scheme called “Quest International Company” under false promises of profit.
“Each victim is required to pay ₦1,500,000.00 each and also instructed to refer two others to the scheme as criteria to become a member of the group, after which they are denied access to their relatives.
“The suspect claimed that the money is for the victims’ chi-pendants, bio-discs and accommodation. The suspect will be charged in court upon the completion of the investigation, while efforts are also in progress to reunite the victims with their families.”
