FCT Police bust gang selling unregistered SIM cards to criminals

The Federal Capital Territory Police Command on Thursday paraded six suspects who specialise in registering Subscriber Identity Module cards with other innocent citizens’ identities and selling them to criminals.
The suspects are Ndubuisi Okeh; John Jock; Nafiu Tijani (a dispatcher); Nasiru Sulaiman; John Njoku and Suleiman Musa.
Addressing journalists while parading the suspects, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Benneth Igwe, said the suspects sold the SIM cards to criminals between N3,000 and N5000.
He noted that a total of 1,100 registered SIM cards; three registration machines; two fingerprint machines and a mobile phone were recovered from the suspects.
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The arrested gang is alleged to have obtained citizens’ personal information, likely through fraudulent means, and used it to register SIM cards. These cards were then sold at inflated prices to criminals seeking anonymity for their activities.
Igwe said, “On May 29, 2024, at about 3:00 pm, a team of detectives from the State Intelligence Department led by ACP Mohammed S. Baba, acting on credible intelligence, lured and arrested six suspects namely: Ndubuisi Okeh, John Jock; Nafiu Tijani (a dispatcher); Nasiru Sulaiman; John Njoku and Suleiman Musa Who specialises in the sales of already registered sim cards to criminals who operate with other people’s identity to avoid being traced or tracked through their own details at the price rate of three to five thousand naira.”
Unregistered SIM cards, easily obtainable from street vendors, have long been a concern for law enforcement. They offer criminals a way to avoid detection when making calls or sending messages. However, registered SIM cards, linked to a user’s identity, provide a layer of accountability.
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