Hushpuppi and Woodberry have been extradited to the United States of American to face trial for their involvement in internet fraud and cybercrime.
Before their extradition to the US, Dubai police recently confirmed that Raymond Olorunwa Abbas (Hushpuppi) and Olalekan Jacob Ponle aka Woodberry were in their custody over allegations of fraud involving huge sums of money. This confirmation of their arrest came weeks after they were arrested.
Tagged “Fox Hunt 2”, the operation unraveled a hidden online fraud network that was committing crimes outside the UAE, including money-laundering, cyber fraud, hacking, criminal impersonating, scamming individuals, banking fraud and identity theft.
According to Dubai police, Hushpuppi and his gang which included Woodberry committed fraud amounting to 1.6 billion dirhams (N168bn).
Police seized items worth more than 150 million Dirhams from the gang after taking possession of 21 personal computers, 47 smartphones, 15 flash drives, and 5 hard disks.
The Dubai police also disclosed that 1, 926, 400 victims were allegedly scammed by Hushpuppi and his gang.
Now both alleged fraudsters have been extradited to the US. This news was contained in a Facebook message by the Dubai Police in which the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Christopher Wray thanked them for fighting online fraud.
Dubai Police wrote: “The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Christopher Wray has praised the exceptional efforts exerted by the United Arab Emirate, represented by the Dubai Police General HQ, in combating transnational organised cybercrime including the recent arrest of Raymond Igbalode Abbas, known as “Hushpuppi” and Olalekan Jacob Ponle aka “Woodberry” who were taken down in operation “Fox Hunt 2.
“Mr. Wray also extended his appreciations to Dubai Police for their cooperation in extraditing the wanted criminals, who committed money-laundering and multiple cybercrimes, to the United States.”
It must be added Hushpuppi and Woodberry will be joining Obinwanne Okeke aka Invictus Obi who recently pleaded guilty to $11 million internet fraud.
