Suspects detained in Ramtha raids over fraud case

AMMAN — Suspected fraud perpetrated through social media networks prompted police, gendarmes and criminal investigators to raid two houses in Ramtha city at dawn on Monday, a security official said Tuesday.

Several suspects were arrested during the raids, which took place after "thorough investigations", Public Security Department (PSD) Spokesperson Maj. Amer Sartawi said.

The suspects used social media to lure Jordanians and Arab nationals by claiming to sell dollars at a price lower than their market value.

"After convincing the victims, they set up a meeting with them and then took all their money at gunpoint," Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

He added that the suspects work individually but with the help of other groups, and have managed to deceive people several times.

The PSD had received complaints from the victims, who helped police gather enough information to identify the suspects.

With one of the suspects classified as "very dangerous" and wanted for other crimes, PSD personnel planned the raid operation "very carefully".

"One of the suspects is wanted for 16 crimes, including attempted murder, and he was armed. Three others were caught with him during the raid," Sartawi said.

He added that the other wanted person, who was arrested along with another suspect, has a record of 45 offences, including theft and fraud.

"A large amount of counterfeit dollars and weapons were found in the two houses," the PSD spokesperson noted.

He reiterated calls on the public to be "extra cautious when doing business through social media".

"Online fraud is on the rise. We urge people to avoid falling prey to such fraudsters who promise easy profit by claiming to have smuggled or black dollars."

A similar incident took place in April when Criminal Investigation Department (CID) agents in Jerash and Ramtha foiled an attempt to defraud an Arab out of JD1 million.

Ramtha CID received information that two suspects had convinced an Arab through social media that they could sell him dollars at a price lower than their market value, and he agreed to buy $1 million, sending a person in his stead to Jordan to check the cash before paying for it.

Investigators tracked down the suspects, issuing an all-points bulletin on the vehicle they used to all police patrols in the Kingdom.

Agents working at the Jerash police station stopped the vehicle and arrested the suspects along with the person sent to check the money, and confiscated $50,000 in real currency that they were planning to use to trick the victim.

In a separate case in Balqa, CID investigators tracked down and arrested a "dangerous man", wanted for larceny and who had been in hiding for some time.

The suspect, who was detained in a dawn raid on Tuesday, has 16 criminal counts and is wanted for 27 cases, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.