Dubai Police Extradites Hushpuppi And Woodberry To United States
Alleged criminal mastermind Raymond Igbalode Abbas, known as ‘Hushpuppi’ and Olalekan Jacon Ponle better known as ‘Woodberry’ has been extradited from the United Arab Emirates to the United States.
Dubai Police revealed in a statement that the Nigerian fraudsters, Huspuppi and Woodberry have been extradited to the United States after they were arrested in Dubai for allegedly committing multiple money-laundering and cybercrimes.
FBI’s Director, Christopher Wray thanked the Dubai Police for their cooperation.
Statement by the Dubai Police reads;
The Director of the Federatal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Christopher Wray has praised the exceptional efforts exerted by the United Arab Emirate, represented bu the Dubai Police General HQ, in combating transnational organised cybercrime including the rrecent arrest of Raymod Igbalode Abbas, known as “Hushpuppi” and Olalekan Jacon Ponle aka “Woodberry” who were taken down in opetation “Fox Hunt 2”.
In June, the Dubai Police had arrested Hushpuppi, Olalekan Jacob Ponle, known as ‘Woodberry’, and ten others in an operation tagged ‘Fox Hunt’.
The suspects were accused of “committing crimes outside the UAE, including money-laundering, cyber fraud, hacking, criminal impersonating, scamming individuals, banking fraud and identity theft,” the Dubai Police said.
Before his arrest, Hushpuppi had gained fame on social media for his outlandish display of wealth.
The director of Dubai CID, Brigadier Jamal Salem Al Jallaf said the raid that led to his arrest resulted in the confiscation of incriminating documents of a planned fraud on a global scale worth AED 1.6 billion ($ 435 million).
“The team also seized more than AED 150 million ($40.9 million) in cash, 13 luxury cars with an estimated value of AED 25 million ($6.8 million) obtained from fraud crimes, and confiscated 21 computer devices, 47 smartphones, 15 memory sticks, five hard disks containing 119,580 fraud files as well as addresses of 1,926,400 victims”, he said.
After conducting further investigations and analysing confiscated electronic devices, Dubai Police investigators uncovered sensitive information mined by the suspects on individuals and companies overseas including bank accounts and fake credit cards as well as documents and files condemning the gangs’ illegal activities, the Dubai Police said.