- Nigeria Immigration Service started deporting 192 convicted foreign fraudsters, with first group of 42 people evacuated on Sunday
- Deportees include Chinese, Filipino, and other nationals arrested in December 2024 for cryptocurrency and romance scam operations in Lagos
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has begun the deportation of 192 foreign nationals convicted of online fraud in the country.
According to reports, the first group of 42 foreign people was deported on Sunday, while another set will be evacuated to their respective countries on Monday and Tuesday.
In December 2024, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) detained 792 members of a gang for alleged cryptocurrency and romance scam fraud.
The accused were apprehended in a seven-story building on Victoria Island, Lagos. The foreigners were reported to be “training Nigerians on how to initiate romance and investment scams” at the building.
Members of the syndicate include 114 Chinese nationals, 40 Filipinos, two Khazartans, one Pakistani, and one Indonesian.
The anti-graft agency had described the operation as the “largest single-day” arrest of internet fraudsters in the country.
The EFCC had arraigned the suspects at the federal high court in Lagos.
In June, some of the foreign nationals were convicted by the court.
The court also directed the comptroller-general of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to repatriate the foreigners to their country of origin within seven days after completing the jail term.
In July, EFCC secured the final forfeiture of digital assets worth $222,729 seized from some of the Chinese nationals arrested during the operation.