Australian police on Monday, April 8, said that two men in Nigeria have been arrested for attempting to extort a teenager by threatening to release compromising photos of him online.
It was gathered that the victim, unable to meet up with the demands took his own life after being targeted in the sextortion scheme.
According to detectives, the suspects, who had been communicating with the teenager online, demanded Aus$500 (US$330) from him.
It is worth noting that sextortion is a growing cybercrime where scammers, often pretending to be romantic interests online, manipulate victims into sending them explicit images.
However, the Australian authorities added that they collaborated with counterparts in South Africa and Nigeria to locate the two suspects, ultimately finding them.
Under the Nigerian law, local authorities have the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for offenses committed against Australians.
An Australian Federal Police Commander Helen Schneider emphasized that sextortion targeting children is a transnational crime, as evidenced by these arrests.
Meanwhile, three Nigerian men, identified as, Samuel Ogoshi, Samson Ogochi, and Ezekiel Ejehem Robert, are being charged with sexually extorting more than 100 minors and adults in the Western District of Michigan, and across the United States.
The charges were revealed on Wednesday by the US Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten, after the indictment.
The Department of Justice revealed that on March 25, 2022, 17-year-old DeMay was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
His death instigated an investigation by the Marquette County Sheriff’s Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The DoJ claims that Samuel faked an identity using the Instagram alias “dani.robertts,” tricking Jordan into sending a nude photo of himself.
However, the grand jury stated that the defendants purchased social media accountsthat had been hacked and used them to pose as young women in order to entice male teenagers and young adults into sexual chats.
