The International Police (INTERPOL) Nigeria has confirmed the arrest of Instagram celebrity Raymond Igbalode a.k.a. Hushpuppi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Commissioner of Police (CP) INTERPOL in Nigeria, Garba Umar, confirmed his arrest to The Nation, He said plans are on the way to extradite him to Nigeria.
“It is true that Hushpuppi was arrested by the INTERPOL. We are currently working on bringing him to Nigeria to face charges of fraud. Some of the offences were committed here in Nigeria and he has to answer for them. He is not alone in it; there are accomplices in the country who we are currently on their trail” he said
Hushpuppi and two of his associates, Mr Woodberry and Efe, were arrested three days ago, June 10, for allegedly hacking into the United States (US) unemployed database and impersonating citizens qualified for unemployment funds. According to The Nation, Huspuppi and his accomplices in Nigeria, Dubai and other countries allegedly defrauded the US government of over $100 million meant for Native Americans in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.
They were arrested after weeks of investigation by the US Secret Service, following the alarm raised in May about a crime ring of suspected Nigerians who broke into the personal information of citizens and used false unemployment claims to cart away hundreds of millions of dollars reserved to help jobless American people.
They were alleged to have filed in so many names of Americans who were still working to various state unemployment offices and collected money from the system. They were alleged to have used information stolen from first responders, government personnel, and school employees.