Foreign national in Delhi arrested for duping Mumbai woman of ₹7.61 lakh

Sakinaka police on Friday arrested a Nigerian national from New Delhi for duping a 35-year-old woman from Mumbai to the tune of ₹7.61 lakh. The woman, who works

Sakinaka police on Friday arrested a Nigerian national from New Delhi for duping a 35-year-old woman from Mumbai to the tune of ₹7.61 lakh. The woman, who works in a private company, was asked to deposit the money to receive gifts worth lakhs which the accused had sent to her but were in Delhi airport customs’ custody in March.

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The arrested accused identified as Fulgence Kuoadia alias Christopher Wilmer, 33, is a resident of Puchnpur, Delhi.

“Wilmer befriended her on Facebook and introduced himself as a businessman from England. He talked to her for two to three months and told her that he would send her gifts,” the police complaint read.

Within a few days, the complainant received a call from a person who introduced himself as a customs officer from Delhi airport. He asked her to pay duty charges to get her parcel released. The accused by then convinced the woman to deposit over ₹7.61 lakh to various bank accounts.

According to police, when the calls for payment did not stop, the woman realised that she had been cheated and approached Sakinaka police station to file a complaint. Following her complaint, police registered a case under sections 420 (cheating), and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 66(C), 66 (D) of the Information Technology (IT) Act.

“We tracked Kuoadi to Delhi after analysing the mobile numbers used for the scam. We dispatched a team to Delhi and on Friday evening we arrested him,” said the officer.

Deputy commissioner of police Maheshwar Reddy supervised the team of senior inspector Kishor Sawant, assistant inspector Liladhar Patil and tracked the accused to Delhi.

“We are investigating the case in detail and are looking for his accomplices. We have also asked people to come forward if they have been targeted by such people and to share information on those instances,” the officer added.