Two Nigerian nationals have been arrested by police in Delhi for making fake profiles on matrimonial websites and duping many women of millions on the pretext of sending over expensive gifts.
The accused, Chife Monday, 27, and Igwemma James, 33, revealed to the police that they have duped over 700 women over the last four years, DCP (Outer) Harendra Kumar Singh said on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.
The police said the duo would pose as US residents and claim to have sent gifts to the women. They would the ask the women to pay a fee in order to get the gifts released from customs and cheat them.
“Based on an analysis of their phone, it has come to our notice that they purchased a piece of land in Nigeria using the same money,” DCP Singh said.
A woman recently filed a police complaint, stating that she met a man called Ahmad Nafees on a matrimonial website. Both became friends online.
Nafees claimed he was from California and said he was sending her a gift and shared a picture of it.
“Nafees introduced himself as a US citizen and told her that he’s sending her a gift parcel,” the officer said.
In her complaint, the victim said she received a call from a woman who introduced herself as Riya Mehta, a customs official.
“She then cheated the victim to the tune of Rs 2.40 lakh on the pretext of custom duty and other taxes for the gift parcel,” Singh added.
Further investigation led to the accused’s location in Delhi’s Nilothi Extension area in Chander Vihar, where a raid was conducted and the accused were arrested.
According to the DCP, the duo came to India in 2018, and were staying in different parts of the country despite the expiry of their visa.
The duo revealed that two more people, one of whom would impersonate a customs official, were part of the racket.
