Nigerian national remanded, another on bail over package delivery scam

A Nigerian national residing in Guyana on Friday appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on a charge for his alleged role in an online romance scam.
Matthew Ejike Nwachukwu of Nigeria and Wayne Anthony Halley of Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), were arraigned before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly.

It is alleged that between August 20 and 29, at Georgetown, they conspired with each other to defraud Njema Nobel of $100,000 in cash by falsely pretending that they were in a position to deliver a package to her.
Nwachukwu was remanded to prison after the Police prosecutor’s objection to bail regarding him being a flight risk was upheld by the Magistrate.
Anthony was granted $100,000 bail with the condition that he report to the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) Headquarters every Monday until the hearing and determination of his trial.
The case was adjourned until October 25.
Over the past few months, SOCU – an arm of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) – has charged several persons, including a woman, in relation to the package delivery scams.
These romance scams are designed to defraud victims into sending money to accounts controlled by other persons in exchange for expensive gifts like high-end phones.
In most cases, the scammer adopts a fake online identity to gain the victim’s trust and affection.
They then use the illusion of a romantic or close relationship to manipulate and/or steal from the victim.
The Head of SOCU, Assistant Commissioner Fazil Karimbaksh is once again calling on all Guyanese to be vigilant against package delivery and romance scams. He is also encouraging everyone to report such scams immediately.