On a crime-watch website discussing the arrest, the Irish blogger is outraged that many Nigerians in his country have been so arrested in recent times.
ecent arrest of a
34-year-old Nigerian man for his alleged role in a romance scam has triggered
online backlash against Nigerians in the European country.
The arrest, one of
many in recent years by Ireland’s Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB),
involved the Nigerian said to have lived in Ireland since 2004.
The crime victim, a
German, lost more than €200,000 to the group of scammers.
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The suspect was
arrested at his Co Waterford home Monday and is being detained at Dungarvan
Garda Station where he is being questioned. Sources say more than €40,000 from
the scam went through his bank account and has now been spent by him.
On a crime-watch
website discussing the arrest, the Irish blogger is outraged that many
Nigerians in his country have been so arrested in recent times.
“Nigerians, as an
African woman informed me, destroyed South Africa, with heroin, now they are in
Ireland, making millions on illegal drugs fraud and scams,” said Fred Basset, a
blogger and “political searcher of the truth” who “exposes corruption and
cronyism and helps whistleblowers.”
Continuing, he said:
“This Nigerian, has multiple fake names. F**k the race card blarney. Charge
him, if guilty, jail him but then deportation??? We all know there are decent
Nigerians, but sadly we have a problem in Ireland with the bad ones and certain
Nigerians are hated across the world??”
On another Nigerian
arrest, Basset wrote: “How are these Nigerian fraudsters, getting into Ireland
so easy, we are a soft touch???”
Basset’s comments
mirror a growing sentiment in Ireland, where a Nigerian was shot and killed by
the police this year, sparking anti-racism outrage.
On Irish social
media, similar comments have been observed by Nigeria Abroad regarding
Nigerians linked to crime in the country.
The current suspect
was arrested under “Operation SKEIN,” an Irish investigation into international
BEC/Invoice redirect fraud being committed from Ireland, and the laundering of
the proceeds through accounts there.
It is estimated that
the criminal organisation in this arrest has stolen over €18m worldwide in
invoice redirect frauds/BEC frauds, with the vast majority laundered through
bank accounts in Ireland.–
