Here’s how a suburban North Texas police force won 2 international investigation awards
The Collleyville Police Department with 44 officers has won two international law enforcement awards for its work in solving two high-profile cases, police said in a news release. One involved closing down a worldwide sex-trafficking website and the other brought down an international elder fraud ring that operated from Nigeria, police said.
The department won the awards from the International Association of Chiefs of Police, which has more than 31,000 members in more than 165 countries.
Each year, the association honors law enforcement officers and agencies for their leadership, excellence and professionalism. A total of 15 awards are given out each year.
The Colleyville Police Department will receive the awards during the IACP annual awards banquet in September.
“It is a feat for any agency to win one award, but for a department the size of Colleyville to win two agency awards in one year is absolutely incredible,” said Colleyville Police Chief Michael C. Miller in a Thursday news release. “It speaks to the capabilities of our team, the interesting and meaningful work we are doing here, and the quality of our partnerships.”
Colleyville police received the 2021 IACP/Thomson Reuters Excellence in Criminal Investigations Award for their sex-trafficking investigation, which led to the closing down of the CityXGuide website and the arrest of its owner. Colleyville worked with Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) Dallas field office, the U.S. Secret Service, HSI’s El Paso and San Jose field offices, as well as the Texas Department of Public Safety.
In the sex-trafficking investigation, Wilhan Martono, 46, was arrested on June 17, 2020, in Fremont, California, after he was charged in a 28-count federal indictment with prostitution, trafficking and money laundering. He was the owner of CityXGuide and companion websites that allegedly allowed advertisers to select from a list of “intimate activities,” then add nude photographs, descriptions, work hours, methods of payment and contact information for the women being advertised, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Federal agents said the websites netted Martono more than $21 million.
CityXGuide, which served clients all over the world, featured a list of 14 “Favorite Cities” including Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami and Boston.
Authorities identified numerous juvenile victims in CityXGuide advertisements, including a 13-year-old girl recovered in North Texas in November 2019.
Martono pleaded guilty to federal prostitution charges in May and his sentencing is pending.
Colleyville police also won the 2021 IACP Leadership in the Prevention of Transnational Crime Award for their work investigating a transnational crime organization involving several romance and lottery scams that targeted elderly victims. On this case, Colleyville worked with the U.S. Secret Service and investigators from the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office.
Four suspects accused of bilking victims of more than $4 million were arrested. At least $200,000 has been secured and authorities are working to return the money to victims.
A Tarrant County grand jury indicted Ifeanyichukwu Obi, 40, of Grand Prairie, on engaging in organized criminal activity; Saheed Akinyemi, 32, of Haslet, on theft of property between $30,000 to $150,000; Olusegun Odunwole, 33, of Fort Worth, on engaging in organized criminal activity and theft of property between $2,500 and $30,000; and Obianuju Orakposim, 41, of Arlington, on theft of property between $300,000 to $1 million.
The four are accused of targeting elderly residents across the country by stealing their retirement money via convincing phone calls, authorities said.
Some of the victims were widowers who were seeking relationships on online dating sites, according to news reports.
Trials for the four suspects are pending, according to Tarrant County criminal court records.
