Zambia sentences 22 Chinese citizens to prison terms for cybercrimes

Source: Manila Metro

LUSAKA, Zambia: Twenty-two Chinese nationals received long prison terms for cybercrimes, including internet fraud and online scams targeting Zambians and other people from Singapore, Peru, and the United Arab Emirates by a Zambian court on June 7.

Additionally, the convicts were fined between $1,500 and $3,000. They pleaded guilty to computer-related misrepresentation, identity fraud, and illegally operating a network or service. A Cameroonian national was also sentenced and fined on the exact charges.

They were all part of a group of 77 people, mostly Zambians, arrested in April over running a "sophisticated internet fraud syndicate."

Director-General of the Drug Enforcement Commission, Nason Banda, said investigations were launched after a spike was noticed in cyber-related fraud cases and many people complained about losing money from their mobile phones or bank accounts.

In April, officers from the DEC, police, immigration department, and anti-terrorism unit raided a Chinese-run business named "Golden Top Support Services" in an upscale Lusaka suburb, leading to the arrest of 77 individuals.

The raid resulted in the seizure of over 13,000 local and foreign mobile phone SIM cards, two firearms, and 78 rounds of ammunition.

Banda said in April after the raid that the business had employed Zambians aged between 20 and 25 to use the SIM cards to call unsuspecting mobile users across WhatsApp, Telegram, chat rooms, and others using scripted dialogues.