2 Nigerians held for duping Kashmiri man of ₹36.35 lakh

COMPLAINANT CAME IN CONTACT WITH ACCUSED ON SOCIAL MEDIA; ENDED UP PUTTING MONEY IN FAKE BUSINESS AFTER BEING LURED BY HIGH RETURNS

Police on Wednesday arrested two Nigerian nationals from New Delhi for their alleged involvement in an online fraud wherein a resident of northern Kashmir’s Baramulla lost ₹36.35 lakh.

The accused, Isioma Steven and Collins of Delta Agbor, Nigeria, were arrested from Vashisht Park in Sagarpur, New Delhi. Police rerecovered 14 mobile phones of different make and models, a laptop, 14 sim cards, a wi-fi router, a dongle. Police said six more arrests are expected in the case.

The complainant had alleged that he came in contact with a Facebook user under the name T Jessica, who claimed to be a purchase manager at the pharmaceutical company Abbott.

The Facebooked user convinced the complainant to start a business of kandu nuts or palm seeds by showing fake offers, orders and promising high returns. The complainant then came in contact with a person posing as Jyoti T Kandu, a businessperson who assured him that the product was of high quality and was valued in the pharmaceutical market owing to its medicinal benefits.

“The complainant without knowing the plot behind the fraud invested a hefty amount of ₹36.35 lakh by transferring the said amount in different bank accounts of fraudsters for purchasing 50 packets of kandu nuts,” a police spokesperson said.

Police added that on receiving the consignment of 50 packets of kandu nuts, the complainant received another call claiming to be from the Mumbai customs office, wherein he was asked to deposit more money in order to be able to sell the said nuts to pharmaceutical companies.

“The same created doubt in the mind of the complainant, who then tried to contact the provided details in order to verify the facts, however he did not get any response and felt duped by the Facebook user,” the spokesman further said.

The complainant then approached cybercrime police station, Srinagar. A case was then registered.

Detailing the investigation, police said “During the course of investigation, it was found that the fraud had been done by the fraudsters under a highly technically-built set-up and accordingly, the digital footprints were tracked by analysis of bank accounts that have been used for syphoning money of the complainant.”

“Besides, CCTV footage and analysis of suspect phone numbers by employing high-end technical investigative skills was also carried out,” the spokesperson added.