Ammon News - AMMAN (Petra) – Public Security Department (PSD) criminal police broke up an international gang of online fraudsters and arrested eight people.

The PSD Media Centre said in a statement that a citizen had complained that he had been a victim of an online fraud with an e-mail sender claiming himself as being the son of a well-known politician with a large sum of money that had been seized, and that he wanted some money to get the funds released in return for a certain percentage of the amount.

It added that the victim had sent $65,000 to the e-mail sender, who had told him that he needed the money to pay for the process of freeing up the funds.

The statement said an investigative team of Electronic Crimes Department personnel had been formed, which analyzed the data that led to a suspect who was living in Amman and bore an African nationality.

Police zeroed in on his residence which, it said, was put under police surveillance. He as well his seven other accomplices, who were part of a group that worked in many countries, were arrested.

It said that during a search of three apartments, police found chemical material and various electronic devices as well as certain unknown materials that were sent to the criminal lab.

The statement added that the investigation was still underway and the suspects will be referred to the judiciary. It also urged the citizens to remain alert and promptly report any such incidents to the criminal police.