Black dollar scam busted, 3 Nigerians held

NEW DELHI : The Delhi police have busted a gang of three Nigerians who duped people by claiming to sell chemicals, which would turn black-coated papers into bank notes. Police said the three men, who live in south Delhi, had duped a Jodhpur resident of Rs 52 lakh.

Deputy commissioner of police(east) Ombir Singh said the victim had approached police on March 24, alleging that he was duped by a woman he met on Facebook.

The victim told police in his complaint that he was first approached on Facebook by one of the gang members, who posed as a woman working with the US Navy and currently posted in Syria. Police said initially the woman reportedly sent him gifts to win his confidence.

DCP Singh said during their chats on Facebook, the woman told the victim about a powder, which would convert blackcoated papers into bank notes. Police said one of the gang members had posed as a woman to lure the Jodhpur resident into their trap.

“Recently, he was called to Delhi for collecting a parcel which contained ‘Black Dollars’, dollar notes covered with a black coating to avoid detection by customs authorities. On the pretext of treatment of these ‘Black Dollars’, the complainant was made to arrange Rs 50 lakh to purchase a treatment solution and then cover the Black Dollars with Indian rupee notes and place it in the fridge for 72 hours. During this time, the Nigerian scamsters decamped with the money and left behind the useless black dollar papers,” said a police officer.

Police said the gang members were identified on the basis of electronic surveillance. “We identified their locations and arrested the three men Ifeanyi Lemchi (37), Chika Ejimonu (35), and Onyedikachi (38). We recovered 35 mobile phones, 25 SIM cards, five dongles and Rs 1.90 lakh from their house in Chattarpur,” an officer said.

Investigation revealed the three have transferred Rs 1.5 crore to their families in Nigeria since January.