At least 50 of a group of young Namibians arrested in Windhoek this week in connection with an alleged international investment scam have agreed to cooperate with the Namibian Police in a human trafficking investigation.
A syndicate of Namibians and Chinese nationals accused of defrauding Americans and Europeans were among a number of people arrested in Windhoek this week.
The Namibian Police’s deputy inspector general for operations, Elias Mutota, on Friday said 50 students are among 88 young Namibians who were enticed with offers of marketing jobs but ended up being trafficked in Windhoek.
“Young Namibian males and females, mostly students, were recruited by the suspected foreign nationals and trained to create false profiles on Facebook and Instagram so as to lure unsuspecting United States of America citizens into a scheme that started with building trust with the victims and ultimately introducing them to cryptocurrency investments which will show quick profits and gains, enticing them to invest more,” Mutota explained at a media briefing in the capital.
The police raided six houses in the Auasblick, Kleine Kuppe and Klein Windhoek areas of Windhoek and offices in the Shapumba Towers building in the city on Tuesday evening as part of a sting operation.
Namibian Police Forensic Science Institute head Nelius Becker said the investment scam in which the arrested suspects are alleged to have been involved is known as a “pig butchering” cryptocurrency investment scheme – a reference to the fattening of a pig before it is slaughtered.
The United States Department of Justice said in these schemes, fraudsters cultivate long-term online relationships with victims, eventually enticing them to make investments on fraudulent cryptocurrency trading platforms.
In reality, funds sent by victims for purported investments are instead funnelled to cryptocurrency addresses and accounts controlled by scammers and their co-conspirators.
Fourteen people – including 10 Chinese nationals – arrested by the police this week appeared in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court on 203 charges in total on Friday afternoon.
The charges include 98 counts of trafficking in persons, 98 charges of using the services of victims of trafficking, one count of fraud involving an amount of US$465 405 (about N$9 million) and charges of money laundering, racketeering and failing to pay tax.
Magistrate Dawid Mukuyu postponed the case to 15 February 2024 for further investigations to be carried out, and ordered that the 14 accused should be held in custody in the meantime.
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