A 40-year-old Nigerian man, Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu, has been jailed for eight years in the United States for his role in hacking, identity theft and multimillion-dollar fraud schemes.

Amachukwu, also known as Chukwuemeka Victor Eletuo and So Kwan Leung, was sentenced by US District Judge Paul G. Gardephe after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, in a statement issued on October 19,  Amachukwu and his co-conspirators targeted US tax preparation businesses, stole customers’ personal information and used the data to submit fraudulent tax returns and loan applications.

The schemes, which began in at least 2019, involved spear-phishing emails used to gain access to the electronic systems of tax preparation businesses in New York, Texas and other states.

The conspirators reportedly stole tax and identifying information belonging to customers of the targeted businesses, affecting approximately 800 customers in the identified hacking scheme.

They subsequently used stolen identities to file fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service and state tax authorities, seeking refunds totalling about $8.4 million.

According to the prosecution. the group successfully obtained at least $2.5 million through the fraudulent tax claims.

The conspirators also exploited the US Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan programme, obtaining approximately $819,000 in fraudulent payouts.

In a separate investment fraud scheme, Amachukwu allegedly offered victims investments in purportedly valuable standby letters of credit, impersonating a wealthy overseas financier to convince them the investments were genuine.

The investments did not exist, and Amachukwu and his associates obtained more than $7 million in fraudulent proceeds, the court filings said.

US Attorney Jamie McDonald said Amachukwu had targeted victims while believing he could operate beyond the reach of American law enforcement.

“Amachukwu took part in sophisticated schemes to hack into U.S. businesses, steal and use stolen identity information of victims, and commit fraud,” McDonald said.

He added that the crimes caused significant harm to victims and the public, making a substantial prison sentence appropriate.

In addition to the eight-year prison term, Amachukwu was sentenced to one year of supervised release and ordered to pay $3.64 million in restitution and forfeit $10.84 million.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted with the investigation, which was prosecuted by the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit of the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos have arrested one Qhina Beauty, a 34-year-old South African woman, with 36.65 kilogrammes of cocaine.

Femi Babafemi, NDLEA director of media and advocacy, who disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, said Beauty was arrested on October 7 at the airport’s departure hall while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to South Africa via Doha.

He said a search of her two travel bags led to the discovery of 30 blocks of cocaine concealed with dried pepper, wrapped in cellophane tape and packed into seven parcels.

According to the statement, Beauty told investigators that she arrived in Nigeria on September 30 specifically to collect the consignment and was promised R20,000 by another South African woman for delivering it.

According to Babafemi, Beauty identified two other members of the syndicate, one based in the United States, and the other a Lagos-based car dealer.

He said the agency subsequently arrested Uchenna Umunnakwe, a 46-year-old car dealer, on October 14 at Apple Junction, Ago Palace Way, Lagos, following surveillance at his residence in Shasha.

Umunnakwe, according to the NDLEA,  admitted receiving Beauty at the airport, lodging her at Santiago Hotel in Amuwo-Odofin and later moving her to Cynarisso Hotel near the airport ahead of her departure.

In a separate operation, the agency arrested Anetor Gloria Ubong, a 62-year-old Nigerian-American realtor based in Richmond, Texas, with 9.45 kilogrammes of loud, a high-grade cannabis strain, at the Lagos airport on October 21.

Babafemi said Ubong, who holds Nigerian and US passports, was arrested upon arrival on a United Airlines flight from Houston.

He said officers found 18 parcels of loud concealed with gift-wrapping paper in one of her two checked-in boxes.

The statement said Ubong claimed her daughter and the daughter’s future brother-in-law delivered the box to her home in the US for onward delivery in Nigeria to her daughter’s fiancé, identified as Jibola.

In other operations across the country, the agency arrested Eletu Rasheedat, 41, in the Eti Osa area of Lagos on October 23, recovering 5,820 diazepam pills, 780 tramadol tablets, 3.7 kilogrammes of skunk and 230.25 litres of skuchies.

In Delta state, NDLEA operatives arrested Peter Ugochukwu, 51, in Warri, with thousands of pharmaceutical opioid units, including 29,350 tramadol capsules, 6,620 tramadol tablets, 4,116 bottles of codeine syrup and 11,340 Rohypnol tablets.

Other drugs recovered from him included 3,500 diazepam tablets, 300 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 200 ampoules of diazepam injection and quantities of tramadol 225 milligrammes, Molly and Cocodamol.

Babafemi said Ugochukwu was transferred to the agency by the Nigeria Police Force in Delta alongside a white Hummer bus.

In Warri, officers arrested Helen Bakporo Samson, 46, a physically challenged woman, with 6 kilogrammes of skunk at Enhere Junction on October 19.

The agency also arrested Fajana Dada Oluwaseyi, 41, in the Adamasingba area of Ibadan, Oyo state, on October 19.

According to the statement, Oluwaseyi had earlier escaped arrest when officers seized 197.8 kilogrammes of cannabis from his residence on September 16.

In Kano state, NDLEA operatives arrested Murtala Lawan, 30, during a raid in the Gerawa area on October 22 and recovered 159 blocks of cannabis weighing 97.2 kilogrammes.

In Taraba state, officers arrested Raiyanu Misa, 39, at the Lankaviri checkpoint in Yorro LGA on October 23 with 95 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 60.175 kilogrammes.

The statement added that the police handed over another suspect arrested at Dakka village in Bali LGA, Taraba, with 112 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 81.49 kilogrammes.

In Niger state, officers arrested Emmanuel Ekene, 26, on the Sabo-Kainji road in Borgu LGA on October 19 with 64,000 opioid pills, including tramadol and diazepam.

In Bauchi state, NDLEA operatives arrested Jamilu Mustapha, 45, also known as Last Card, at Nasaru town in Ningi LGA on October 21, recovering 379 kilogrammes of cannabis packed in seven large sacks.

Babafemi said officers also recovered 583 kilogrammes of abandoned cannabis from a farm in Board-Ala, Akure South LGA, Ondo state, during a raid on October 20.

In Edo state, operatives destroyed two cannabis farms in Ugbada Forest, Uzebba, Owan West LGA, on October 18.

The farms had an estimated yield of 2,023.14 kilogrammes of cannabis, while officers burnt 450 kilogrammes of processed cannabis at the site and took another 97 kilogrammes as exhibits.

The agency also arrested Mary Edokhai, 42, at Ewe community in Owan West LGA, with 35kg of cannabis.

Babafemi said NDLEA commands across the country also conducted drug abuse awareness campaigns in schools, places of worship, workplaces and communities during the week.

He said the agency’s chairman, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers in the affected commands for their vigilance and intelligence-led operations, and urged personnel nationwide to sustain efforts against drug trafficking and substance abuse.

One person has been confirmed dead while three others were rescued alive  following the collapse of a two-storey building under construction in the Fadeyi area Lagos State.

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) confirmed the casualties in an update issued on Friday, as search-and-rescue operations continued at the site.

The building, located on Akinola Street, off Ikorodu Road, collapsed in the early hours of Friday, with emergency responders mobilised to search for construction workers suspected to be trapped beneath the rubble.

In its preliminary incident report, LASEMA said its response team had commenced a coordinated rescue operation, deploying an agency excavator to assist efforts at the scene.

Several emergency and security agencies were involved in the operation, including the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, LASEMA paramedics, the Lagos State Ambulance Service and the Nigeria Police Force’s Alakara Division.

The responders were also managing the scene and coordinating activities to facilitate the rescue of anyone who might still be trapped beneath the debris.

But the cause of the building collapse is yet to be established.

Rescue operations remained ongoing, with emergency officials working to determine whether more people were trapped in the collapsed structure.