Three Nigerian men have been jailed for their part in £429,304 (N901 million) fraud in the United Kingdom.
The trio, Taofeeq Balogun, Taiwo Agusto and Oluwadamilola Bolaji, were found to be members of a syndicate that defrauded Vodafone, EE, O2 and the Carphone Warehouse out of £429,304.
They were found guilty and jailed for a combined total of 11 years at Portsmouth Crown Court.
According to a statement released by Hampshire police, the offenses came to light when a resident told the police that between between Friday, February 14 2020 and Wednesday February 19 2020, four mobile phone accounts had been open in his name without his permission or knowledge.
EE contracts had been taken out in the Fareham and Waterlooville Carphone Warehouse stores and phones where also taken out in O2 and Vodafone stores.
Hampshire police then contacted EE who discovered the residents details had been used for a series of fraudulent activities.
Operation Waterspout was set up as a Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary investigation into the organised crime group who were involved in high value commercial fraud.
The fraudsters used stolen personal details of existing customers from all over England and Wales to take out new phone contracts and obtain expensive mobile phones and similar items such as Apple watches and iPads.
