Two men arrested for cheating Gurugram woman of ₹1.80 crore - Hindustan Times
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Two men arrested for cheating Gurugram woman of 1.80 crore

By, Gurugram
May 31, 2023 12:22 AM IST

The suspects were identified as Ebuka Phylexi and Chukwaka Ewere, both from Nigeria. They are part of a gang that was busted on May 11 for cheating many women on social media websites

Two men were arrested in Delhi’s Nihal Vihar for defrauding a Gurugram resident of 1.80 crore by pretending to send her gifts from Dubai, police officers said on Tuesday, adding that the suspects were part of a gang operating from Delhi that was busted on May 11 for cheating several women on social media websites over the past five years.

One of the suspects who was arrested on Tuesday. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)
One of the suspects who was arrested on Tuesday. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

The suspects who were arrested on Tuesday were identified as Ebuka Phylexi and Chukwaka Ewere, both from Nigeria. Six cheque books, 16 passbooks, 25 debit cards, seven SIM cards, seven mobile phones, a laptop, a scooter, and 10,000 cash were recovered from their possession, said police officers associated with the case.

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According to investigators, the suspects pretended to be doctors, engineers, and information technology (IT) professionals to contact women on social networking apps and steal money from them under the guise of clearing customs fees for gifts. Investigators said that once they receive the suspects’ bank details, they can determine the number of victims and the amount involved in the last five years.

“There are more members of the gang, but we have yet to identify them all. Therefore, we have taken custody of both suspects to gather more information about their operations and methods,” said Varun Dhaiya, assistant commissioner of police (crime).

According to police, the suspects used to scan their victims’ social media profiles before befriending them.

Dahiya said that the suspects were arrested after a 61-year-old widow living in a condominium in Gurugram’s Sector 86, filed a complaint that she was duped out of 1.80 crore by a man who had befriended her on Instagram in December last year while impersonating a pilot with an international airline. According to the woman’s complaint, the suspect told her that he had sent her a gift parcel from Dubai. According to police, the two suspects later pretended to be customs officials and anti-terrorist group officials to threaten the woman that the package contained illegal substances and that she would have to pay a fine or face jail time for it.

The suspects then extorted 1.80 crore from the woman, according to her complaint. When the woman did not receive any gift parcel, she realised that she had been duped and then approached the police, after which a first information report was registered against unidentified fraudsters under sections 419 (cheating by impersonation) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 66-D of IT Act at cyber crime police station, Manesar.

According to Vipin Ahlawat, assistant commissioner of police (cyber), they formed a team and began an investigation. They tracked the suspects down using technical surveillance and apprehended them on Tuesday in Nihar Vihar Phase 2 in Delhi’s Nilothi.

Police said that they were verifying their account information and had written to their embassy to share their visa information.

On May 11, the cyber crime team of Gurugram police arrested six fraudsters, including four Nigerian nationals, for allegedly cheating at least 1,000 women on social networking sites in the past 14 months on the pretext of receiving gifts. The police cracked down on the suspects after a woman in Gurugram complained that she was cheated out of 8.85 lakh on the pretext of receiving a gift from a UK doctor she had met on Instagram.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Leena Dhankhar has worked with Hindustan Times for five years. She has covered crime, traffic and excise. She now reports on civic issues and grievances of residents.

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