2 Nigerian nationals arrested for duping women through fake profiles on matrimonial portals

Two Nigerian nationals have been arrested for allegedly making fake profiles of wealthy Non Resident Indians NRIs on matrimonial portals and duping prospective brides of money on the pretext of sending expensive gifts, police said on Tuesday.The accused have been identified as Chife Monday 27 and Igwemma James 33, they said.The accused confessed to having cheated more than 700 women in the past four years.

Two Nigerian nationals have been arrested for allegedly making fake profiles of wealthy Non Resident Indians (NRIs) on matrimonial portals and duping prospective brides of money on the pretext of sending expensive gifts, police said on Tuesday.

The accused have been identified as Chife Monday (27) and Igwemma James (33), they said.

The accused confessed to having cheated more than 700 women in the past four years. The analysis of their mobile phones has revealed that one of the accused purchased a piece of land in Nigeria using the proceeds of crime, the police said.

The two were arrested recently, they said.

A woman lodged a complaint mentioning that she registered herself on a matrimonial website and met one Ahmad Nafees. He started messaging her and they became friends. He introduced himself as a US resident. Later, Nafees informed that he is sending her a gift parcel and shared its picture, a senior police officer said.

She also received a phone call from a woman who identified herself as Riya Mehta and told her that she was from the customs department. She cheated Rs 2.40 lakh from the victim on the pretext of customs duty and other taxes for the gift parcel, the officer said.

During investigation, the location of the accused was found in Nilothi Extension, Chander Vihar. A raid was conducted and two African nationals were arrested, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Harendra Kumar Singh said. The accused persons came to India in 2018 and were staying in different parts of the country despite expiry of their visa. They disclosed that one Nanso and his wife were also involved in the crime as money was received in the bank accounts of Nanso's associate, who handed him the amount after taking his commission and also commission for a woman who would talk to victims as Indian customs officer, the police said.

They also disclosed that another Nigerian national, Samson S, provided them the phones and international SIM cards for online fraud through a resident of northeast India, the police said. It was found that the accused persons create accounts on leading matrimony websites impersonating as wealthy NRIs or foreign nationals who are doctors, pilots or professors. They contact the women looking for a match and start chatting, the police said.

The accused persons shared information to the victim that he is coming to India or sending her gifts. The gifts sent by them were costly and caught at the airport in a different city. The Indian accomplice of the accused persons impersonates as a customs official and demands fee for releasing those gifts, they said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)