Two Nigerians cheat over 50 with promise of sending gifts, held

The city’s crime branch has arrested two Nigerian nationals for allegedly duping more than 50 people across the country and scamming them for crores of rupees. The

The city’s crime branch has arrested two Nigerian nationals for allegedly duping more than 50 people across the country and scamming them for crores of rupees. The accused befriended the victims on social media and then scammed their targets on the pretext of sending them expensive gifts from abroad.

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Nwankow Chinonso, 34 and Azudiefe Emmanuel, 38, were arrested on Friday from Rahul Nagar, Bandra (West), based on a tip-off received by crime branch officers.

Police have recovered 10 mobile phones, two laptops, two modems and cash.

On scanning one of the mobiles, police got the number of a 61-year-old Prabhadevi resident who told police that one of the accused had been chatting with him, posing as a woman, since July last year.

He said the accused befriended him on social media and said he would send expensive gifts from America. One of the Nigerians then posed as a customs officer and called the 61-year-old, claiming that he had to pay customs charges for the gift. The man has so far paid more than ₹7 lakh.

On contacting other numbers found from the accused’s phone, police learnt that a Khar woman had lost around ₹16 lakh; a Tamil Nadu man has also been cheated in a similar fashion. A team has been sent to Tamil Nadu for further investigation.

“Investigation so far indicated their involvement in duping more than 50 people across the country and the amount involved runs in crores,” a crime branch officer said.

Deputy commissioner of police (detection-1) Akbar Pathan said both the accused were in India on tourist visas, and one of the visas had expired. “One accused has married an Indian woman and has two kids. We are checking if she is also involved in the crime,” Pathan said.

“The accused have been cheating people for more than a year. We are scanning their mobile phones and laptops to know more about their victims,” said senior inspector Desai.

Apart from befriending people on social media, the accused would also dupe people on the pretext of selling special seeds and oil that can cure deadly diseases. They would lure people by offering them high-profit business deals, Desai said.

Details of bank accounts are being taken from the accused to know the volume of money received from various victims across the country, the officer said.

The accused are charged under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act for cheating, impersonation, forgery and misusing computer devices. They were remanded in police custody till March 12. Their advocate, Tushar Lavhate, said, “There are no direct evidence against the accused to implicate them.”