22 Chinese nationals jailed in Zambia for multinational cyber crimes

8 June 2024, 10:34

The convicts hide their faces
Zambia Chinese Nationals Jailed. Picture: PA

Jail terms ranged from seven to 11 years.

A Zambian court has sentenced 22 Chinese nationals to long prison terms for cyber crimes that included internet fraud and online scams targeting Zambians and people from Singapore, Peru and the United Arab Emirates.

The magistrates’ court in the capital, Lusaka, sentenced them to prison terms ranging from seven to 11 years.

The court also fined them between 1,500 and 3,000 dollars (£1,175 to £2,350) after they pleaded guilty to charges of computer-related misrepresentation, identity fraud and illegally operating a network or service on Wednesday.

A man from Cameroon also was sentenced and fined on the same changes.

They were part of a group of 77 people, the majority of them Zambians, arrested in April over what police described as a “sophisticated internet fraud syndicate”.

Director-general of the drug enforcement commission, Nason Banda, said investigations began after authorities noticed a spike in the number of cyber-related fraud cases and many people complained about inexplicably losing money from their mobile phones or bank accounts.

Officers from the commission, police, the immigration department and the anti-terrorism unit in April swooped on a Chinese-run business in an upmarket suburb of Lusaka, arresting the 77, including those sentenced on Friday.

Authorities recovered over 13,000 local and foreign mobile phone SIM cards, two firearms and 78 rounds of ammunition during the raid.

The business, named Golden Top Support Services, had employed “unsuspecting” Zambians aged between 20 and 25 to use the SIM cards to engage “in deceptive conversations with unsuspecting mobile users across various platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, chat rooms and others, using scripted dialogues”, Mr Banda said in April after the raid.

The locals were freed on bail.

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

Police carry out an investigation by houses that were hit by a plane in Gramado, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil

10 killed as small plane crashes in Brazilian town popular with tourists

The sun shines on to Vasquez Cirque, new terrain for Winter Park Resort, Winter Park, Colorado

174 skiers and snowboarders rescued after ski lift in Colorado cracks

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at AmericaFest in Phoenix, Arizona

Trump threatens to try to take back Panama Canal

Sonic, voiced by Ben Schwartz, in a scene from Sonic The Hedgehog 3

Sonic 3 speeds past Mufasa: The Lion King at box office

People admire the 18th century Trevi Fountain, one of Rome’s most famous landmarks, as it reopens to the public after undergoing maintenance

Rome’s Trevi Fountain reopens after renovation work

A couple embrace in front of a sea of flowers outside a church

What is known about the German Christmas market attack and its impact

The Corridoio Vasariano or Vasari Corridor in Florence, central Italy

Secret Florence passage that Medici family used to move safely reopens to public

Debris on the ground after helicopter crash, with people looking on

Four killed as helicopter ambulance crashes on take-off in Turkey

People walking amongst rubbled and the remains of homes

Five children among 22 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza

Police officer at cordon beside Christmas market stalls

German authorities were warned about Christmas market attack suspect last year

Pope Francis on large screen in front of faithful in St Peter's Square

Pope in plea for ceasefires to end ‘cruelty’ of conflicts around the world

Man checking wiring outside damaged high-rise building

Russian fuel depot hit by Ukrainian drones for second time

The nine-year-old boy killed in the attack has been pictured.

'Fly little angel': Heartbroken mum pays tribute to boy, 9, killed in German Christmas market attack

US Air Force F/A-18 fighter jet performs its solo aerobatic display at the Singapore Airshow

US military accidentally shoots down one of its own fighter jets

Clean-up truck operating in a Christmas market

Four women and boy confirmed as those killed in German Christmas market attack

Palestinians round fire in camp

Displaced Palestinians enduring winter with little protection from cold