Nigerian ‘footballer’ nabbed for conning people of ₹6.5 lakh

Police said Joe is a native of Lagos in Nigeria while his wife hailed from Assam. Investigators claimed that Joe has so far told them that between 2010 and 2014 he played football for three state-level teams there.

A man from Nigeria and his Indian wife were arrested on Monday for allegedly cheating a number of people on the pretext of getting their goods cleared from the customs department.

Police said Joe is a native of Lagos in Nigeria while his wife hailed from Assam and the couple has so far conned people to the tune of ₹6.5 lakh. (HT FILE PHOTO)

Police said the couple has so far conned people to the tune of ₹6.5 lakh. The man, identified as Ifeanyi Joachin Nwafor alias Joe, also claimed to be a football player for state clubs of Nigeria.

Police said Joe is a native of Lagos in Nigeria while his wife hailed from Assam. Investigators claimed that Joe has so far told them that between 2010 and 2014 he played football for three state-level teams there.

According to the police, the forgery came to light when a woman alleged that some months ago, a UK-based man, George Moor, became friends with her on Facebook. “The complainant said, Moor requested her to accept a few gifts from him, which he wanted to be distributed among the poor. After few days, in July this year, she received a call from a lady, who stated that she was calling from the Mumbai customs and that her office had received a parcel from the UK for clearance for which she has to pay ₹26,000,” said DCP (Dwarka) Anto Alphonse.

“She was told that she has to pay Income Tax. Again, the complainant deposited ₹95,600 in the bank account. Later, when she was again asked to pay some more money, she found it suspicious and reported the matter,” the DCP said.

During investigation, a police team traced calls made and numbers used by the suspects, which revealed that the caller had visited Assam last year. “Probe revealed that the caller had withdrawn the money deposited by the complainant on the same day it was deposited. Details of ATMs from were obtained and technical surveillance and CCTV cameras installed in the area,” the DCP said.