MBABANE – Investigations have revealed that the foreign nationals arrested at Castle Hotel were allegedly operating a sophisticated online scam commonly known as ‘pig-butchering’.
Pig-butchering is a form of organised online fraud, in which scammers gradually build trust with a victim before convincing them to invest money in fake investment or gambling platforms and then stealing the funds.
The scam typically begins when criminals contact potential victims through social media and messaging applications. The scammers pretend to be friendly acquaintances and communicate with the victim over a period of weeks or months to build a relationship and gain their trust.
It is commonly run by organised criminal syndicates operating from call centres, hotels or office buildings, where groups of scammers work together to target victims across different countries.
Over 80 foreign nationals from China, Brazil, Indonesia, Taiwan and Cambodia were arrested during an operation conducted by the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS).
The suspects are currently facing holding charges related to immigration and employment violations after allegedly entering and working in the kingdom without the necessary permits.
Investigations indicate that the suspects allegedly targeted victims online and gradually built relationships with them before convincing them to invest money in fraudulent platforms.
According to investigators, the suspects allegedly contacted victims through social media platforms, messaging applications and online forums.
They reportedly pretended to be successful investors or friendly acquaintances in order to gain the trust of their targets.
Once communication had been established, the suspects allegedly spent weeks or even months communicating with victims and building relationships with them.
Investigations conducted by this publication revealed that the suspects would then introduce what they described as profitable investment opportunities.
These opportunities were allegedly linked to online gambling and digital trading platforms.
Victims were reportedly directed to websites and applications that appeared legitimate, but were in fact controlled by the suspects.
It was found that the platforms displayed what looked like profits in order to convince victims that their investments were successful.
Encouraged by the apparent gains, victims were then persuaded to invest larger amounts of money.
However, investigators say the profits shown on the platforms were not real.
When victims attempted to withdraw their money, they were either asked to pay additional fees or their accounts were blocked entirely.
The suspects, according to investigations, would then disappear with the victims’ money.
Investigations further revealed that the suspects allegedly operated from rooms inside the hotel that had been converted into operational centres.
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One room used as ‘police station’
MBABANE – One of the rooms inside the establishment had allegedly been converted into a fake police station used to intimidate victims.
The discovery forms part of findings made during investigations by the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) following the arrest of the suspects during an operation conducted at the hotel.
Investigators say the room had allegedly been set up in a manner that made it appear like a real police station.
It was found that the facility was used during video calls with victims in order to create the impression that the individuals contacting them were genuine law enforcement officers.
According to investigations, the suspects would allegedly contact victims through video calls and position themselves in the room so that the background appeared as though they were operating from an official police station.
Investigators say the set-up was intended to convince victims that they were dealing with legitimate law enforcement officials.
During the calls, the victims would allegedly be informed that they were under investigation for serious offences such as money laundering and other financial crimes.
Authorities say the suspects would then intimidate the victims and pressure them into transferring money in order to resolve the alleged cases against them.
Investigations further revealed that several items believed to have been used to create the impression of a legitimate police environment were found inside the room.
Among the items discovered were jackets bearing the names of police agencies from different countries.
Investigators believe the jackets may have been worn during video calls in order to reinforce the impression that the suspects were genuine police officers.
Some of the jackets were branded with the names of police institutions from countries such as Cambodia.
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