Three Nigerian nationals have been arrested in india for allegedly swindling an Indian woman of more than Rs 2.62 lakh, with each facing at least three years in prison.
A report by The Times of India disclosed that the cybercrime police detained Lezhu John, Gibril Mohammed, and Egboola Ekena in connection with the case. Although the three suspects have not yet been formally charged in court, if convicted, each suspect faces a minimum of three years imprisonment under the Information Technology Act (IT Act, 2000) and the Indian Penal Code.
Per Section 66D of the Indian IT Act, as stated on the website of the India-based law firm S.S. Rana & Co, “Anyone who commits cheating by impersonation using computer resources may face imprisonment for up to three years and a fine of up to one lakh rupees.'”
The three suspects are alleged to have run a cybercrime racket that defrauded many individuals across India. The latest victim filed a complaint at the Cybercrime Police Station after discovering she had been scammed by someone she had connected with on Instagram.
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The suspects allegedly kept many photos of men and women on their phones to create fake social media profiles for deception. Investigations showed they used over 500 bank accounts for the fraud, with more than 900 complaints filed nationwide related to these accounts, as stated by M.M. Rajput, ACP of Cybercrime in Vadodara.
One of the accused allegedly posed as Sohn Yunmin, claiming to be a chemical engineer from the United States. He told the woman he would soon be working in Assam, and as their friendship developed, she sent him a gift.
In April of this year, the accused asked her for Rs 50,000 to purchase machinery, claiming his friend could not cover the cost. She agreed, but later, a woman named Niharika called, asking for another Rs 35,500 to cover customs fees for a parcel containing US dollars.
The victim continued to send money, eventually transferring a total of Rs 1.69 lakh, before realizing she had been deceived.
The police traced the suspects using the details of the bank transactions. It remains unclear when the suspects will be formally charged in court.
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