The police have arrested two suspects for allegedly cloning payment slips for United States visa application fees to do multiple online registrations for intending visitors to the country.
The suspects, Sesan Awolola, 31, and 28-year-old Adebayo Ajasa, were also accused of procuring fake visas.
They were apprehended in the Tinubu area, Lagos Island, by operatives of the Police Special Fraud Unit.
It was learnt that they usually collected N60,000 each from applicants under false pretences of paying same at banks.
The police said the suspects explored computer software applications to manipulate genuine visa payment slips issued by the banks and used the forged copies to register for several clients.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the US Embassy noticed the irregularities and alerted the SFU, leading to the duo’s arrest.
The spokesperson for the SFU, ASP Lawal Audu, who paraded the suspects on Thursday, said the police had launched a manhunt for the fleeding members of the gang.
He said, “The suspects claimed to be working as online appointment agents for the American Embassy. They specialise in manipulating visa payment slips in order to use same for more than one applicant.
“Trouble started for them when one applicant paid the sum of N60,000 into Adebayo Ajasa’s account with Guarantee Trust Bank for a visa fee for his son. Ajasa, instead of making payment upon receipt of the money, opted to buy an already used receipt, belonging to another applicant from Awolola for N30,000. Ajasa used the payment slip using CorelDraw application to do the manipulation and made a booking for his client.”
Ajasa, who confessed that he bought the payment slip from Awolola, said he had been into online visa appointment since 2012.
He said, “Segun (Awolola) and I have been friends for five years, but this is the first time I would buy the visa application fee receipt from him. I usually do the appointment for my clients while they bring receipts. But in this case, the client paid N60,000 – N54,000 for the application fee and N6,000 for my service. I met with Segun and he said he had one to sell for N30,000. I didn’t know it had been used.”
Although Awolola admitted that he knew Ajasa, he denied to have sold the payment slip to him. He said he had helped a man, his wife and son to book appointment at the US, but the son’s application was rejected on the grounds that the receipt had been used.
“It was a friend, Rafiu, that invited me to his office sometime last month to assist in registering for the family. The man paid for the visa application fees himself at GTB. One of the receipts did not go through. I mailed the American Embassy and they replied that someone had used the receipt. The person, whose name appeared on it, was also invited and the person said it was Ajasa that he paid to.”
A businesswoman and graduate of University of Ilorin, Afolabi Modupeola, who reportedly patronised one Wale at large to obtain a fake US visa, was also arrested by the police.
The businesswoman said she resorted to obtaining the visa through the backdoor after two unsuccessful attempts to get it at the embassy. She added that she wanted to travel to the US to buy jewellery and clothes.
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