By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

A blind 419 kingpin, Tochukwu Ikebuife, a.k.a Mmanye, who specialises in using spit to confuse his victims, has been arrested by the police in Anambra State.

The middle-aged suspect, an indigene of Ire, Obosi in Idemili North Local Government Area of the state, was said to have defrauded his victims –mostly sales girls and apprentices – of huge sums of money ranging from N500,000 to N5m.

It was gathered that the suspect’s mode of operation was spitting on the palm of his victims which he used to cast a spell on them before defrauding them.

The news of the arrest of Ikebuife was made known when Ndigbo Unity Forum (NUF), led by its National President, Dede Uzor A. Uzor, paid a courtesy visit to the Anti-Cult Commander in Enugu-Ukwu, SP Noel Uche.

In his speech, Uzor commended the new Commissioner of Police in the State, Mr. Monday Kunyas, and SPAC Commander for the major breakthrough in arresting the kingpin and his wife, Nkiru Ikebuife, who was said to be an accomplice in the crime.

He said: “People should be wary of persons who approach them for assistance, claiming that they came from other African countries Ghana, Togo, Ivory Coast among other African countries and need help to change their foreign currency.

“People should be careful of such individuals. This is one of their antics.”

While calling on the police to immediately arraign the suspect and the wife to serve as deterrent to others, he urged them to intensify efforts to arrest five other groups operating from the same Obosi, using Camry and Keke to carry out their criminal operation.

The leader of NUF appealed to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to promote the Commander, Anti-Cult in the state and his team for bursting the crime and arresting the culprits.

In his response, the Anti-Cult Commander said that the culprits have caused heartache to different organisations and individuals in the State who they have duped at various times.