Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Dublin Live
Dublin Live
National
Claire Henry & John Hand

Romance scam gang jailed for conning woman out of €250,000 'working for notorious Black Axe crime group'

Three men who were jailed for conning a woman out of her life savings in a romance fraud were working for the notorious international Black Axe gang, gardaí suspect.

And we can reveal that the thugs sent around €250,000 of the victim’s money from Ireland to accounts linked to fake companies set up in Turkey and Vietnam. The gang is believed to have then used the money to buy products to ship back to Nigeria where they were sold.

The Nigerian Black Axe gang is one of the biggest fraud gangs in the world and is behind a spate of romance scams across Ireland. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard the woman met a man calling himself Neil Turner on dating site Plenty of Fish in November 2019.

Read more: Housing activists occupy historic Iveagh Markets

He began to ask the woman for money to help him with his business. Over a six-month period, she transferred just over €254,000. The woman went on to borrow a further €50,000 and gave it to ‘Turner’.

Gardaí linked the fake profile to three Nigerian nationals living here. Omowale Owolabi (31), of Kentswood Court in Navan, pleaded guilty to theft. Raak Sami Sadu (32), of Lohunda Downs, Clonsilla, Dublin 15, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud.

Samson Ajayi (33), of Park Wood, Grangerath in Co Meath, pleaded guilty to money laundering. Judge Martin Nolan sentenced Owolabi to three years and three months in prison, Ajayi to two-and-a-half years and Sadu to three years.

Read next:

Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.