Tanzanian national wanted in cyber fraud in Kerala, arrested at Mumbai Airport after 3 years

The accused had allegedly cheated a woman from Ernakulum, Kerala, in 2016. He left the country after committing the crime.

The Sahar police on Monday arrested a 29-year-old Tanzanian national, who was wanted in a 2016 cyber fraud case in Kerala, at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) while he was on the way back to his country.

The accused, a Tanzanian national, was arrested at Mumbai airport when he was on his way back to Dar es Salaam. (Satyabrata Tripathy/HT Photo)

According to police, the accused, Rweyemamu Mlashani, 29, is from Tanzania.

On Monday, immigration officials detained the accused based on a Look Out Circular (LOC) issued by the Kerala police while he was returning to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. The Kerala police will soon arrive in the city and taken him back.

Mlashani had allegedly cheated a woman from Ernakulum, Kerala, in 2016. He left the country after committing the crime. Recently, he returned to India on a student visa. The woman had lodged a cheating case at the local Kotamangalam police station.

A Kotamangalam police officer said, “The accused had befriended the woman on the internet saying he is a foreign national. He then promised her a gift saying it had reached the international airport and she needs to deposit ₹50,000 as custom clearance fees to get the gift. The woman deposited the money in the accused’s account but the accused asked for more money. She then contacted the airport authorities and learnt that there was no such gift sent in her name. She registered an FIR with us.”