Fraudulent Facebook Fortune Scheme Foiled: Two Nigerians, One Bangladeshi Woman Arrested
Two Nigerian nationals and a Bangladeshi woman have been arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) for allegedly defrauding hundreds of people through a social media-based investment scam. The suspects—Frank Coco (36), Emmanuel (36), and Mosammat Sweety Akhter (27)—allegedly lured victims by promising high returns on fictitious investments and seized large sums of money.
According to RAB officials, the trio operated a fraudulent scheme using fake profiles of wealthy foreign nationals on Facebook. They claimed to send packages containing dollars or expensive goods via airport cargo that required customs clearance charges. Victims were then coerced into paying these fictitious fees. Forged images, clearance documents, and certificates were used to make the scam appear legitimate.
At a press conference held at RAB Media Centre in Karwan Bazar on Monday night, RAB-1 Battalion Commander Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Zahidul Karim said, “Sweety Akhter was involved in managing the Bangladeshi end of the operation. The group exploited Bangladeshi women to gain the trust of victims and extort money under false pretenses.”
He further noted, “Frank Coco and Emmanuel have been involved in this scam for the past two years, while Sweety joined them about three months ago. Notably, Coco was previously arrested by RAB-10 two years ago for similar fraudulent activities.”
The commander revealed that financial statements of two mobile banking accounts belonging to the suspects showed transactions totaling around BDT 1.8 million (approximately USD 15,300), with funds still actively being transferred. Authorities are currently investigating additional mobile banking SIMs and accounts linked to the suspects.
The arrests followed a series of operations by RAB-1 across the Bashundhara and Pallabi areas of Dhaka from Sunday night to Monday. During the raids, officials recovered two laptops, four iPhones, three smartphones, three feature phones, a tablet, and a hard drive used in the fraudulent operations.
Investigations are ongoing as RAB continues its crackdown on organized online scams targeting unsuspecting users through social media platforms.
