THE 419 CODE
a novel by
Elijah E. Yamslaw
PROLOGUE
I have written this story in order to awaken my readers to the nature and realities of the subtle games that pervade all of our mailboxes, websites and emails. They are not just crimes that happen ‘somewhere else’. This is a story that must be told, its subtleties understood. I have written the truth within my own fictional exposition, and the composition unmasks the hidden tricks of pen crime.
I am aware that some people will read this book and still act foolishly, others will never read it and will learn not at all. Over the years I have seen the damage done by foolish people as well as their unwise decisions and actions, even in the services of a wise cause. I know the harm, the ridicule and the destruction they have brought.
Know it that riches are not harvested from a tree, but from a trick. And such riches can only bring devastation to the harvester.
Elijah E. Yamslaw
Our lives begin to end the day we keep silent on issues that matter.
Our time demands it, the system compels it, our future requires it,
and everyone should be watchi
CHAPTER ONE
Jim Dyke yanked his cell phone from his pocket and glared at the screen. He was relieved to see the words 'Lee Tanu' flashing in the tiny window.
“Lee, where the hell have you been, man?” he growled into the phone. “The EFCC and the fucking cops are onto us.”
Laughter rang in Jim’s ear, and Jim gaped in disbelief. “I’m dead serious, Lee.”
“You’re afraid, that’s what I think,” Lee said, still chuckling.
“Oh yeah? Dunno how brave you’ll be behind bars.”
Jim's voice was smooth. “I’m going nowhere, Jim. And neither are you. Stop worrying. They’ll calm down soon enough.”
“Calm down? You have no idea. Lee, we need to meet. Usual place, thirty minutes,” Jim demanded, then hung up.
► ◄
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or EFCC, is an office set up by the Federal Government of Nigeria. Its mission is to track down, stamp out, and bring to book all manner of corruption, including scamming and cyber crimes. Recently, the Naija (Nigerian) government and her various security outfits had heightened their drive to sanitize the country, and as a result the web scammers and cyber criminals, known as the ‘Yahoo Boys’, were on the run.
In response to the task force's success, most of the fraudsters decamped, drumming their ways to neighboring countries where they continued with their work. The EFCC, the police and their counterparts abroad pursued the local and international swindlers, concentrating on cyber crime.
Jim Dyke drove to the meeting in a milk-colored Silver Spirit Rolls Royce. An 18 carat Raymond Weil watch peeked from under one cuff of his slick navy suit, a silk neck tie and shiny black Prada shoes completed the ensemble. The meeting place was the Chicken Republic Restaurant in the highbrow area of Victoria Garden City of Lagos, commonly known as V.G.C. This was where the Yahoo Boys often sat in the cyber cafés, browsing for unsuspecting clients.
Jim parked the Rolls in the lot and hurried inside. The light in the busy restaurant was dim, so he removed his shades before glancing around. Lee was nowhere to be seen. Jim took out his cell phone and dialed Lee’s number again.
“Godammit, Lee. Where the fuck are you?”
“Usual place, man,” Lee said.
Jim studied the room, but saw no sign of Lee. He wiped a bead of sweat off his nose and tried to ignore the frantic thumping of his heart. Everything made him nervous these days. He pressed the phone to his ear and said through gritted teeth, “I’m here. You’re not. What the fuck’s going on, Lee?”
“For God’s sake, Jim, chill out. I’m in the upper chamber, you idiot.”
Jim glanced around before replacing his glasses, then took the stairs two at a time to the upper chamber. Lee was sitting with his woman, Sylvia Bruntel, curled around him. She seemed to be purring something in his ear.
“Hey, Lee,” he said.
“Good to see you, Jim.”
Jim nodded toward Sylvia, then looked back at Lee. “I can see you’re doing okay.”
Lee grinned and ran his fingers over a tightly-clad breast and the girl melted into him. “You can say that again. And you?”
“A bit fucked up,” Jim admitted.
Lee waved him toward a seat. “What’s that shit you’re talking over the phone?”
“We’re in trouble,” Jim said. Despite the situation, he couldn't help admiring the curve of Sylvia’s legs. He watched her cross and uncross them while he spoke. “The EFCC is after everybody. And I mean everybody!”
“How do you know that?”
“I was told by a close aid. He said our names are on the list of suspects.”
“But we’re not suspects, Jim. We’re perpetrators. Cyber-crime syndicates. You afraid, man?”
A waitress approached, looking just as stunning as the girl now sucking on Lee’s neck. They placed their orders and the waitress left them alone to talk.
“You know, Lee,” Jim said, frowning. “Local and international governments are devoting a lot of time these days to web scammers and cyber criminals. Britain and America are in the forefront. See, it’s no longer funny, not even here. You gotta hink about these technological advancements as a death trap. The things we used to get away with are now deeply flawed. Nothing is hidden any more. The bank cheques business has also been flawed by this advancement. Even the credit card companies are online.”
Lee looked indifferent. He shrugged. “But all these fucks can’t stop the deal, man. When the cops or the commission get tough, we gotta get tougher. Simple.”
“How can you think like that, Lee? Godammit. You're not listening. Maybe when they saddle your ass and shut you in a fucking dungeon for ten years you might start to listen.”
“No. It’s easy, see? We’re going to spread out, my man. We'll send some boys over to Europe, America, Asia and Australia and…”
Jim shook his head hard. “Don’t even think about that. America is hitting cyber crime harder than drug crime. Britain is biting hard, too. Mr Nebo was nabbed last week while setting up a business in London, and was jailed for fifteen years. Jadua and his brigade were nabbed in Birmingham with a bag full of credit cards, bank cheques, Thomas Cook Traveler’s Cheques, different banks’ LPOs, Bonds and Purchase Order Sheets. They got fifteen years each.”
“Jim, how long will you continue to catalogue failures rather than successes?”
“As long as freedom still knocks at my door, telling me to quit.”
They lapsed into silence when the waitress returned. She placed the meals on their table, leaning low enough so they received a generous view of her cleavage. Jim paid her forty dollars plus a generous twenty tip. She gave him a demure smile, and Jim winked with obvious suggestion. She returned the wink then headed toward the kitchen, swaying her fine ass as she went.
Lee leaned back in his seat, enjoying his Rémy Martin. Jim began his meal, then signaled another waiter, this time a man.
“Can you change this music to something better?” he asked.
“What do you like, sir?”
“Actually,” Jim said, smiling. “Yahoo soothes my nerves.”
“My pleasure, sir.”
The waiter went behind the counter, and seconds later Jim's request filled in the air.
Lee's attention turned to Sylvia's breasts, and Jim dug into his meal while jigging and popping to Yahoo. He swallowed down the last bite, then turned to the duo.
“You know why I like this music?” he asked, still moving to the beat.
“Why?”
“Because Mr Powell danced to its thrill.”
Lee raised his eyebrows in question. “Would that make you American, rather than the con you are?”
“Sorry. No prize for stupidity,” Jim said, amused.
“I don’t mind being stupid. As long as I'm rich.”
“Okay. Let's get back to business, because you obviously need a lesson. See, Lee, the problem is, everything now is automated to personal phone numbers. As soon as you tamper with any credit card, or slot a stolen card into a cashpoint, a signal goes off to the owner wanting to know if he’s responsible for the transaction.”
“What about our other codes that demand the victim gives us only liquid cash? Like crude oil, ‘Wash-Wash’, transfer or R.D.B. (Royal Diplomatic Baggage)? What happens with them?”
“Get this, Lee, it’s no longer safe here. Do you understand? I’m backing out.”
“Come on, man. Lift your shoulders and do some crimes. Send your brigades out to Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivorie, Togo, Niger, Holland, Italy, Spain, and even London. They’ll garner clients for you. Life is all risk, nothing more.”
Jim wiped his mouth with his napkin, then tossed it onto his empty plate. He shook his head and got to his feet. “As you can see, the whole of Ikeja is under siege by the EFCC, and they’ve picked up some people already. I don't know about you, but I'm not interested in rotting in jail.”
They walked with him to the lot and Sylvia, who seemed weary, headed straight toward Lee’s car. The men stood beside Jim’s, still talking.
Lee folded his arms across his chest. “What exactly do you want to do about this?”
“Just to wash my hands of it altogether and enter the legal universe.”
“Ah, Jim. You are a dreamer.”
“Maybe so, Lee. Maybe so. But I am tired of only thinking of myself. I have come to the realization that everybody in this world needs justice and equality. If we're all going to get along, we have to follow the rules, not break them.”
Lee patted Jim on the shoulder. “If you say so, man. Anyway, I’ll send my brigades out to those places I mentioned, and very soon I’ll have some harvest.”
Jim turned away, tired of the discussion. He pressed the remote and the car's ignition lit up. Over the rumbling engine, he said, “You know what, Lee? Let’s pretend we didn’t meet today. I’ll give you a call sometime.” He yanked open the door, dropped into the driver's seat and sped off.
As soon as Jim was gone, the EFCC tiger squad arrived at the Chicken Republic Restaurant. They swarmed into the building and came out again, shoving prisoners into their steaming Toyota Hilux patrol trucks. Among those prisoners was Lee Tanu. When the task force was done cleaning out the building, they screeched off in the same direction in which Jim had headed. Lee and many other con-men were arrested for cyber-related crime and advance fee fraud, then arraigned before Justice Itta Bida. With a wealth of evidence before him, Bida sentenced them all to ten years' imprisonment.
From the road, Jim could see that his palatial home was cordoned off by combined teams of cops and the EFCC. With no other options available, Jim fled the town and headed back to his village.
Many who evaded the raid quickly left Africa from different ports of exit and continued their activities in Europe, America and Canada. There they devised other methods of sending out emails to the unsuspecting public, including soliciting for help in the guise of helpless female refugees from Liberia, Siera Leone and other West African war-torn countries. Most of these letters were grammatically incoherent and practically unreadable. Some were sent as unsolicited love letters in which they offered to send their photographs should the receiver show interest and do likewise in return. Other letters impersonated bank directors, contract awarding committees, foreign exchange departments of banks in Burkina Faso and environs. These letters were finely tuned in the most convincing way. They proposed great, multi-million dollar schemes and solicited the recipients to help bank the projects.
They often succeeded in their quests. Dummies are easily scammed, and exist all over the world. The United Kingdom, America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Spain, Netherland, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, Greece, Portugal, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Brazil, Saudia Arabia, United Arab Emirate, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Korea and Japan - all provide breakfast, lunch and dinner for these fraudsters.
During the EFCC’s pursuit of the Yahoo Boys, other criminals were exposed. Governor M.B. Shamberikwu of Latelma state was arrested for money laundering while trying to escape with the loot from the state treasury. Various ex-Ministers, senators, legislators, ex-governors, and mayors of local governments were indicted on similarly wicked charges.
Six months after the Chicken Republic Restaurant raid, intelligence revealed the latest hideout of the Yahoo Boys. The EFCC, after due surveillance and investigation, swung into action. By about 11am, the fraudsters had all arrived and gathered in Mr Charles Bem Joku’s 21 road T-close residence in Festac Town. His residence was also secretly used as an office for the cyber criminals. Among the prominent cyber hackers within was Nnadis Kudis Ngongo, whose expertise in computer literacy was well known.
The building was cordoned off by the tiger squad and the gate placed under lock and key.
After a set time known by all the Yahoo Boys, nobody went in or out until the office was closed. After that time, any knock at the gate would signify an intruder. When they heard a bang on the gate, no one moved. All eyes turned toward the gate. The bang came again, this time harder. One of the boys went to spy, and while he was there he heard the slight squawk of a radio message in his earpiece. Fearing the police, the boy raced back and told the others what he'd heard. Everyone waited silently, but no one came.
Two hours later, two patrol trucks arrived with ladders, filled with technicians wearing red 'on-duty' jackets with the EFCC Nigeria inscription on their backs. They set up the ladders all around the residence and clambered up them from different directions. As soon as the Yahoo Boys saw their enemies struggling to gain entrance, the whole inner wall of the fence became like a panicked spider's web. Everyone tried to scale the walls and escape.
Nnadis Kudis Ngongo managed to escape, along with many others. Some were arrested, whisked to the EFCC office, then awaited trial detention.
Two months later, Nnadis Kudis Ngongo’s visa to travel to Italy was issued. He bought a ticket and disappeared, planning to let this ugly business lie low until he became familiar with the goings on in his new abode. When he arrived, he scouted out what was popular with the people of his color in the country, then slowly started up the soliciting business of ‘vous compra’ (please buy from me). He hated soliciting clients, offering such meagre goods, but all the time he watched, seeking out new victims.