Following the arrest of the social media celebrity, Ismaila Mustapha (a.k.a. Mompha), a Lebanese, Hamza Koudeih and two other suspects were nabbed by the police in Lagos state.
Koudeih was arrested at the weekend after a three-hour stand-off at his N1.8 billion luxury apartment in the 33-storey Eko Atlantic Pearl Tower, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Mompha, Koudeih and the others are suspected to be kingpins of a network of cyber criminals who laundered N33 billion through three firms.
His arrest by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), followed intelligence unearthed after Mompha’s arrest last Tuesday.
It was learnt that when the anti-graft agency’s operatives arrived at his luxury suite, Koudeih and his wife refused to open the door.
The couple also did not respond to appeals from the building’s chief security officer. But the operatives, who had been monitoring the premises and had it surrounded, knew the Lebanese was inside. His cars were parked in the garage downstairs.
Koudeih was found hiding in the ceiling and a fire-proof safe containing different charms and talismans in calabashes was uncovered after a search was conducted in his bedroom. Two luxury cars were recovered from the suspect who claimed the charms were his “prayer objects”.
Koudeih and his wife’s immigration status are currently being investigated. local and international law enforcement agencies are said to have indicated interest to collaborate in the investigation.
Meanwhile, The Herald reported that the operatives of the EFCC confirmed the arrest of Ismaila Mustapha, popularly known as Mompha, on grounds of Money Laundering charges.
In the cause of Mompha’s arrest, theCable reports that wristwatches worth N20 million were recovered from him by EFCC.
