Two Nigerians have been arrested and charged over an alleged sextortion case that led to an Australian boy commiting suicide.
Australian police say the teenage victim had traded explicit images with a person online before they began making threats and demanding money.
The boy had been engaging with an unknown person online who threatened to share personal photos of him with his family and friends if he did not pay $500, New South Wales police said.
He was believed to have taken his own life in 2023 as a result of the threats.
“The messages are horrific. They’re aggressive and put a lot of pressure on the boy to pay the money,” the police force’s cyber-crime commander, Matthew Craft, told the Sydney Morning Herald.
The case was referred to the NSW State Crime Command’s cybercrime squad, which traced the alleged perpetrators to Nigeria before requesting help from the Australian Federal Police.
As a result of the AFP-led investigation, working alongside South African and Nigerian authorities, two Nigerian men were arrested and charged with sextortion offences in March.
The men were found in a slum in Nigeria, NSW police said and will be dealt with locally, where authorities can prosecute for Australia-based offences.
The commander of NSW’s state crime command’s cybercrime squad, Detective Superintendent Matthew Craft, said young people did not need to suffer in silence.
He said, “We’ve seen a huge spike in sextortion cases, which are up nearly 400 per cent in the last 18 months.
“But the good news is people are reporting it and there are steps we can take to help you before it goes too far.
“We want young people to continue to report these cases and to never be embarrassed to talk to police.
“These arrests in Nigeria show just how far police are willing to go to seek justice on behalf of our young community.”
Yhe AFP’s commander, Helen Schneider, said the arrests showed what could be achieved when law enforcement worked together to fight a global problem.
“The sextortion of children is a borderless crime, as these arrests show,” Schneider said.
Evidence that the duo had also tried to extort other people was found on their phones, according to the SMH. They have been charged over the alleged extortion of the Australian boy, but not his death.
