Delhi: Nigerians arrested for cheating over 700 victims on matrimonial website
Darpan News Desk IANS, 25 Apr, 2023 04:09 PM
New Delhi, April 25 (IANS) Two Nigerians were arrested for cheating more than 700 victims across the country after impersonating as wealthy NRI or foreign national, especially doctors on a matrimonial website, an official said on Tuesday.
The accused were identified as Chife Monday (27) and Igwemma Jame (33), both presently residing in Delhi's Nihal Vihar area.
Police said that the accused came to India in 2018 and were staying without valid documents.
According to police, a case was registered in which the victim woman, a resident of Rani Bagh area, alleged that she had registered herself on Bharat Matrimony website and met with one user Ahmad Nafees online.
As per the woman's complaint, the man started messaging her on WhatsApp and both became friends with each other.
"She started regular conversation with him over the phone and the man introduced himself as a resident of California, the US. Later on, Ahmad Nafees informed that he is sending her a gift parcel and shared a picture of the same," said Harendra Kumar Singh, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer).
The woman later received a phone call from a caller Riya Mehta who cheated Rs 2.40 lakh from her on the pretext of customs duty and other taxes for the gift parcel.
"The mobile numbers used by alleged persons were found switched off and the alleged matrimonial user profile was also found deleted. She later on came to know that she had been cheated online as she did not receive further response from alleged persons," said the DCP.
During investigation, detailed analysis of matrimony profile and calling numbers was done and the location in Nihal Vihar was identified.
"Accordingly, a raid was conducted and Igwemma and Chife were arrested," said Singh.
During interrogation, the accused divulged that one Nonso and his wife were involved in the crime, as money was being deposited into the bank accounts of Nonso's associates.
The accused said that Nonso would then receive the money after deducting his commission and the commission for his wife who used to impersonate an Indian Customs Officer and dupe the victims, according to the official.
The accused also told police that a Nigerian Samson S had supplied them with phones and SIM cards for conducting online fraud through a North East Indian resident.
"Additionally, the accused claimed that they could identify the hideouts of Nonso, his wife, and Samson S in various parts of Delhi," said the official.
Police have also recovered 13 mobile phones, 18 Indian mobile SIM cards and two international SIM cards of a UK telecom service provider from the possession of the accused.
The DCP said that the accused were cheating their victims since 2018. "The accused disclosed that they have cheated more than 700 victims so far. The analysis of their mobile phone has revealed that one of the accused has purchased a piece of land in Nigeria from the cheated money," the official added.
Special judge M.K. Nagpal of the Rouse Avenue Court will pronounce the order on April 26. On Monday, the court had extended Sisodia's judicial custody by two weeks in the case.The probe agency had also said that the 60 days given to complete the investigation against Sisodia are not over yet.
The Chief Minister said: "Before 2017, the state was infamous for riots. More than 700 riots rocked the state between 2012 and 2017. But not a single riot broke out after 2017. Earlier, just the names of many districts scared people. Now there is no need to be scared.
On April 5, the ED had informed Judge Nagpal that it has found fresh evidence indicating Sisodia's involvement in the alleged excise scam, and the investigation is at a crucial stage. The court had extended AAP leader's custody till April 17 in this case.
In three separate incidents, the Customs Officials posted at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport have arrested three persons who were supplying 3 kg gold worth Rs 1.68 crore. A Customs Official said that all three are Indian nationals who arrived from Middle East. They were intercepted and held on the basis of intelligence inputs.
A soldier died of a gunshot wound at around 4.30 p.m on Wednesday. He was on sentry duty with his service weapon. The weapon and cartridge case from the same weapon was found next to the soldier, it said. The gunshot wound was near the right temporal region. He was immediately evacuated to the Military Hospital, but succumbed to his injuries.
Alok Kumar, DCP Special Cell, said: "On April 8, acting on a secret information, the police laid a trap near Ghazipur Subzi Mandi and two key members of the syndicate were finally held with 2 kg of heroin." During questioning, Mohammad Alam disclosed that he had been supplying heroin for the last two years to different people in Delhi, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
