DEC BUSTS INTERNATIONAL CYBER SYNDICATE
…seize 135 desktop computers, one laptop, a satellite gadget and other ICT-related equipment, arresting up 77 Zambians, 23 foreigners
REMINISCENT of the 2024 movie thriller, “The Beekeeper,” the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) working with the Zambia Police and other security wings yesterday busted an international syndicate involving cybercrime in which an assortment of Information and Communication Technology (ITC) equipment, including sim cards were confiscated.
Mwenge Mulenga, the DEC Public Relations Officer disclosed in an interview that had the security team delayed even by a month to move in, the masterminds, who had arrived in the country from Dubai masquerading as tourists would have sneaked out of the country to their next base.
Mr Mulenga said the scammers operated throughout the day and night at a rented house in Lusaka’s upmarket Roma Township and were disguised as a company called Golden Top Support Services, which provided internet services.
“It is an international syndicate and had set base in Zambia. When it is time to move, they simply wipe out everything in their computers and move to another base,” Mr Mulenga said.
Earlier in a statement, Mr Mulenga said 23 foreigners had been arrested of which 22 were Chinese and one Cameroonian in the aftermath of the raid at Golden Top Support Service.
He said 77 Zambians who included 50 men and 27 women were arrested but 17 were released while the rest remained in detention.
Mr Mulenga said the scope of the scammers’ illicit operations extended beyond Zambia’s borders, as evidenced by sophisticated mobile and internet communication with individuals in countries such as Singapore, Peru, United Arab Emirates and others across the continent.
“It was revealed that the organisation employed unsuspecting Zambian youths aged between 20 and 25, mostly school leavers, under the impression that they shall work as call centre agents, tasking them with engaging in deceptive conversations with unsuspecting mobile users across various platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, chatrooms, and others, using scripted dialogues,” he said.
Mr Mulenga said the security wings discovered sim boxing machines on-site, facilitating the bypassing of local service providers, networks for fraudulent activities, including internet fraud and online scams.
He said DEC seized 135 desktop computers, one laptop, a satellite gadget, and other ICT-related equipment.
Mr Mulenga said also two firearms with 78 rounds of ammunition and two vehicles were also seized.