NEWS
Phone Box Swapping Gang Busted After Viral CCTV Video Sparks Police Investigation
Police have arrested a notorious phone-swapping gang that was caught on CCTV carrying out a sophisticated scam at mobile phone shops.
According to reports, the suspects consisted of three people—two men and one woman. Two of them, a man and a woman, would pose as a couple visiting phone stores as genuine customers interested in buying expensive smartphones.
While pretending to inspect a phone, they allegedly swapped the original sealed phone box with another identical-looking box they had brought with them. Instead of a smartphone, the fake box was reportedly stuffed with fufu to match the weight of the original package. After completing the swap, they would claim they were no longer interested in making the purchase and leave the store.
CCTV footage of one of their earlier operations recently went viral on social media, helping to expose their method.
The gang’s activities came to an end yesterday when they allegedly attempted to steal an iPhone 17 Pro Max valued at ₦2.5 million from another phone shop. This time, however, the sales attendant noticed the swap, confronted the suspects, and immediately raised an alarm, leading to their arrest.
Following the incident, several phone shop owners in Abuja came forward, alleging that the same suspects had previously stolen iPhone 15 models and other high-end devices from different stores using the same phone-box swapping tactic, as seen in earlier CCTV footage.
Authorities are expected to continue investigating the case to determine whether the suspects are linked to other similar thefts in the city.
Police have arrested a notorious phone-swapping gang that was caught on CCTV carrying out a sophisticated scam at mobile phone shops.
According to reports, the suspects consisted of three people—two men and one woman. Two of them, a man and a woman, would pose as a couple visiting phone stores as genuine customers interested in buying expensive smartphones.
While pretending to inspect a phone, they allegedly swapped the original sealed phone box with another identical-looking box they had brought with them. Instead of a smartphone, the fake box was reportedly stuffed with fufu to match the weight of the original package. After completing the swap, they would claim they were no longer interested in making the purchase and leave the store.
CCTV footage of one of their earlier operations recently went viral on social media, helping to expose their method.
The gang’s activities came to an end yesterday when they allegedly attempted to steal an iPhone 17 Pro Max valued at ₦2.5 million from another phone shop. This time, however, the sales attendant noticed the swap, confronted the suspects, and immediately raised an alarm, leading to their arrest.
Following the incident, several phone shop owners in Abuja came forward, alleging that the same suspects had previously stolen iPhone 15 models and other high-end devices from different stores using the same phone-box swapping tactic, as seen in earlier CCTV footage.
Authorities are expected to continue investigating the case to determine whether the suspects are linked to other similar thefts in the city.
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