A MAN of Lusaka is reeling in the doube pain of losing his pricey iPhone 15 Pro max, then K640,000 to the same thieves.
Over two weeks ago, John Mwanza a resident of Farm number F2882 Waterfalls, became a victim of cybercrime when some criminals stole his classy state-of-the-art iPhone 15 Pro max worth K25,000, unlocking their path to a part of his green account.
The criminals utilised their quick fingers to exploit the stolen device to obtain sensitive bank credentials, including those for his ECO bank and Zanaco accounts.
Over the following week, they executed a carefully planned digital heist, siphoning off a staggering US$13,000 (about K340,000) from his ECO bank account and K300,000 from his Zanaco account.
Mwanza logged a complaint to the authorities and Cyber Security Task Force immediately swung into action.
With an impressive wealth of resources at their disposal, confidential informants and analysing call detail records, the task force identified several suspects believed to be involved in the crime – all of the suspects were located within Lusaka.
Investigation led them to three suspects: Wesly Phiri 28, Rodgers Makayi 30, and Leonard Kalekanya 29.
According to sources, these suspects were arrested in various locations within the city, including Kuomboka township, Katakana, and Garden compound.
During the arrests, the Task Force recovered a significant amount of evidence linked to cybercrime operations.
This included 15 pre-registered Airtel SIM cards, 6 cellular phones, and a Mazda Demio motor vehicle believed to be connected to the crime.
All recovered items were seized under Section 121(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code and the trio is still under police custody.
The Cyber Security Task Force is continuing its investigation into this case as additional suspects are believed to be involved.
Picture file for illustration
By Moses Makwaya
Kalemba September 30, 2024
