Nigerian in home sale scam arrest
An alleged mastermind of an elaborate attempted WA house sale scam has been arrested in Nigeria after an eight-month international police operation.
Authorities swooped on Ntuen Promise Ekenmini at an international courier office on Wednesday as he allegedly tried to collect documents for the sale of a $780,000 Falcon home using a forged licence in the name of the African-based owners.
Major fraud squad Det-Sen. Sgt Dom Blackshaw said Nigerian authorities suspected the man was one of the main offenders in the sophisticated bid to sell the home without the owners' knowledge and were now trying to track down his accomplices.
Police are also investigating whether the case is linked to two successful property frauds and four other similar attempted cons in WA in the past five years.
The scams first made headlines in September 2010, when criminals sold Wembley Downs retiree Roger Mildenhall's investment property without his permission. A Ballajura family were victims 11 months later.
The crimes prompted fraud squad seminars so real estate and settlement agents could detect and prevent similar scams.
Mandurah Estate Agency director Kent Murphy said he believed the training led sales manager Simon Goodwin to recognise the attempted scam.
Criminals masquerading as the owners contacted the agency in December wanting to change their contact details.
A month later it was asked to sell the property, with copies of fake passports and a forged document from the Australian High Commission in Pretoria used to confirm identities.
Police and the agency pretended to go ahead with the sale to try to identify the fraudsters.
