DISGRACEFUL AFTER DENIAL OF AMERICAN EMBASSY VISA:
NIGERIAN Woman, MODUPEOLA AFOLABI, 34, Arrested for Procuring FAKE BRITISH, CHINESE VISA…Passport bears Forged Heathrow Airport’s entry/exit stamps
*Desperately paid N70,000 for Scam visas and stamps to Touts
*US Visa officers during interview discovered suspect never been to Britain, Orders Arrest
*Oluwole Fake Visa Boys Apprehended: Sesan Awolola, 31, and Adebayo Ajase, 28, with specialty in cloning visa payment slips and receipt
* “Nigeria’s Police Special Fraud Unit received a petition from the U.S Embassy last year lamenting the amount of money it was losing to fraudsters, who use Corel Draw application and Microsoft Word to clone old receipts and present them for use by other visa applicants”-Lawal Audu, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, spokesman for SFU
BY TINU OLAWOLE/CRIME REPORTER, LAGOS
A 34 YEAR OLD NIGERIAN WOMAN, MODUPEOLA AFOLABI who thought deceiving the United States Embassy officials with bogus, untrue British and Chinese Visa claim would eventually guarantee her a B1/B2 American Visa had herself to blame, as Nigeria’s Police Special Fraud Unit, SFU, were invited to arrest her for fraud, forgery and lies, a clear violation of United States law.
Eye witness confirmed that Afolabi, known in her area of Lagos residence as very desperate to travel to America at all cost, decided to throw caution into the wind, just to acquire United States Visa. Twice she applied for US Visa, and twice she was denied. She was nabbed after tendering her passports showing forged United Kingdom and Chinese procured fake visas to American Visa officers. The trained American Visa officers looked her straight in the face and ask few questions to verify she actually possessed these Visas, only to see through her that she must have purchased fake visas bearing in mind she had no faint idea of any where, event, ceremony or activity in Britain and China.
Pronto, Nigeria’s Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU), Ikoyi, Lagos were called in immediately to effect Afolabi’s arrest for procuring fake United Kingdom and Chinese visas as well as fake Heathrow Airport’s entry/exit stamp.
Afolabi was paraded by the spokesman for SFU, Lawal Audu, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), alongside two suspected visa racketeers, Sesan Awolola, 31, and Adebayo Ajase, 28, suspected to be ‘Oluwole Boys’ who allegedly specialised in cloning visa payment slips and receipt. In her confession, Afolabi claimed to be a university graduate, said she resorted to procuring fake UK and Chinese visas after she was denied United States visa twice.
Afolabi said when she contacted an ‘Oluwole Boy’ visa agent, she was told that her application was rejected her because she had a virgin passport, “The agent, Olawale told me there was something he would do so that when my documents are sent again, the United States people will grant my visa request. He told me that the United States Embassy would not verify the authenticity of visas from other countries and so, I agreed to do it.”
Afolabi laments: “I paid Oluwole Boys the sum of N70,000 for fake visas and stamps. I badly needed to travel to America to buy clothes for sale. I usually shopped online and I felt if I started travelling to America to buy, it would be cheaper for me. I have a registered business and I think I have enough money in my account but they rejected me twice. They found out when they were asking me questions during interview that I have not been to the UK and that was how I was arrested.”
For Audu, the SFU received a petition from the U.S Embassy last year lamenting the amount of money it was losing to fraudsters, who use Corel Draw application and Microsoft Word to clone old receipts and present them for use by other visa applicants.
Following the petition, Audu said the SFU commenced an investigation which led to the arrest and arraignment of three suspects, including one Ismaila Adefile before a Lagos Magistrates’ Court, Igbosere.
#Additional Reports by The Nation
