{"id":1555,"date":"2026-07-15T10:08:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T09:08:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=1555"},"modified":"2026-07-15T10:08:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T09:08:32","slug":"delta-police-bust-phone-box-swindlers-using-fufu-to-steal-smartphones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=1555","title":{"rendered":"Delta Police Bust Phone Box Swindlers Using Fufu to Steal Smartphones"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>By Eric Gift<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Operatives of the Delta State Police Command have arrested members of a fraud syndicate accused of using an unusual tactic to steal high-end smartphones by concealing lumps of fufu inside counterfeit phone boxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Announcing the breakthrough on April 18, 2026, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Delta State Command, SP Bright Edafe, described the scheme as &#8220;another dimension of crime.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the police, the suspects allegedly introduced the fraudulent method from other parts of the country. They would approach phone dealers with what appeared to be genuine, factory-sealed cartons of premium smartphones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While distracting the seller during the transaction, the suspects allegedly swapped the original phone with a counterfeit box containing fufu carefully wrapped to match the weight of the actual device. They would then pretend to abandon the purchase and leave with the genuine smartphone, while the unsuspecting vendor believed the original item was still inside the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A video released by the Delta State Police Command showed officers displaying recovered phone boxes, smartphones, and the fufu-filled packages allegedly used in carrying out the fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;These guys have brought the trick of stealing from people to Delta State, but unfortunately for them, this is the Delta State Police Command,&#8221; SP Edafe said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Police said the method is similar to scams previously reported at Computer Village in Lagos, where unsuspecting buyers discovered lumps of fufu instead of expensive smartphones after completing their purchases and opening the packages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The command has advised phone dealers and buyers to carefully inspect and test devices before concluding any transaction, warning that hurried exchanges create opportunities for criminals to carry out such deceptive practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The suspects remain in police custody as investigations continue to determine the full extent of the syndicate&#8217;s operations and whether they are connected to similar cases reported in other parts of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Delta State Police Command reaffirmed its commitment to combating emerging forms of crime through intelligence-driven policing and swift law enforcement operations while urging members of the public to remain vigilant during commercial transactions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Eric Gift Operatives of the Delta State Police Command have arrested members of a fraud syndicate accused of using an unusual tactic to steal high-end smartphones by concealing lumps of fufu inside counterfeit phone boxes. Announcing the breakthrough on April 18, 2026, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Delta State Command, SP Bright [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"iawp_total_views":42,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[116,143,70,411],"class_list":["post-1555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trendingnews","tag-crime","tag-delta-state","tag-police","tag-sp"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1555"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1558,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1555\/revisions\/1558"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}