Criminal ring forced victims of usury to come to Malta

An Englishman of Nigerian origin was yesterday jailed for a year for his part in the running of a ring which forced English victims of usury to come to Malta and obtain cash through stolen and forged credit cards.

A second Englishman of Nigerian origin, Saheed Dele Olanipekun, 32, was given an 18-month jail term suspended for three years after the court noted that he had been one of the victims forced to carry out the crimes.

Olanipekun and Antonio Fernando Galvao Falamino, 40, were found guilty of giving a false declaration or information to a public authority, handling stolen property, forging passports and carrying someone else's passport.

Magistrate Abigail Lofaro heard how victims of usury in the UK were made to come to Malta, provided with false driving licences and credit cards and sent to exchange bureaux or banks to withdraw money.

The victims of usury, specifically of Nigerian origin, arrived in Malta in a group and the group leader would take their passports on arrival so that they would not be able to leave.

The magistrate noted that Falamino had been something of a ringleader within the group because the police found all the passports in his possession. They also found him to be carrying a number of credit cards.

Police Inspectors Ian Joseph Abdilla and Sandro Zarb prosecuted.