By OKOSUN DENNIS
A 35-year-old graduate identified as Gladys Assah – Asor has been arrested by the operatives of the Lagos Rapid Response Squad (RRS) for allegedly defrauding her business partner, Nkiruka Okon, of N7 million.
National Daily gathered that the suspect, a single mother from Cross-River State, lives at 33b Silifatu Abioye Street, Ogba, Oke-Ira.
Before her arrest, she was said to have been working with a network marketer for a popular product based in Ikeja, Lagos.
Confessing to the crime, the suspect told the team of investigators that she duped her partner of the said money.
Gladys was arrested after RRS Decoy Team laid a siege on her after her friend and business partner, Nkiruka Okon made a report of fraud against the suspect before her arrest.
Assah – Assor in her words said, “I met Okon in Port-Harcourt in 2008 where she works as a banker with a commercial bank.
She explained that later in 2015, she marketed a product to her called Healthy Halogen Oven, a product which is imported into Nigeria by a networking marketing company called Avenues to Wealth.
“As a network marketer and a partner to the company, she further explained, “my duty was to bring potential customers and partners into the business for a win – win profit making both for the customer and myself.
“I told Okon about the Healthy Oven which was one of the products of Avenues to Wealth sold for N12,000 at company price.
“We agreed to partner so that we can be buying large quantity of the product. We contributed the capital together while I do the marketing and transportation of the products to the customers.”
On her part Nkiruka explained that “I got interested in the healthy oven marketing business and decided to go into partnership with Gladys, whom I have known since when I was residing in Port-Harcourt.
“We agreed to buy about 410 units of the oven from the company at the rate of N12,000 and agreed to sell each unit for N20,000.”
As a result of the agreement, “I made a deposit of N4,500,000 to Gladys account based on the agreement that after sales, I would be collecting back N7.5m plus the profit.
Unfortunately, she reneged on the agreement as contained on our memorandum of understanding.
“After I contacted her for my money, she refused to pick my calls and absconded for over one year. It dawned on me that I have been duped by the person I thought was my business partner.”
“All effort I made to persuade Gladys to pay my money proved abortive as she continued to give me one excuse or the other.
During one of our confrontations in 2016, Gladys issued me a dud cheque of N3m, N2m and another N2m making N7m in total but the bank told me the cheques were not payable’, Okon further reiterated.
National Daily learnt that Gladys also duped another lady whose identity was not disclosed by the team of investigators.
Assah-Assor also confessed to have duped the lady to the tune of N1.8m in a car purchase deal she brokered.
Assah – Assor in her words confessed to have linked the lady to an auto dealer from whom her sister wanted to purchase a Toyota 4-wheel drive worth N3m. She had convinced the lady to pay for the vehicle in installment.
She confessed to have collected the first tranche of N1.8m on behalf of the auto dealer. The bubble burst when the lady demanded for a refund as she was no longer interested in the deal upon realising that Assah-Assor was up to some games.
Gladys, while revealing how she spent the money realised from duping people pointed out that she used proceeds from the second fraud to open a catering shop business, bought car, travelled out on vacations and got a suitable apartment for her family.
The arrest of the suspect was confirmed by the Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Police Command, ASP Famous–Cole, stressing that the suspect has been transferred to the SCID, Panti for further investigations and prosecution.