Nigerian Man Arrested For Fraud In India

A 45-year-old Nigerian man has been detained by the Chandigarh Cybercrime Police for allegedly defrauding a woman of 2.91 lakh rupees on the pretence of getting married to her.

According to a statement released by the police on Wednesday, June 28, 2023, the suspect, identified as Peter Johnson of Lajpat Nagar in New Delhi, was detained as a result of a woman from Sector 39 B filing a complaint.

Through a matrimonial website, the Nigerian man had made contact with the victim.

He was found to ## 27 ATM cards, 26 mobile phones, and 15 sim cards by police.

The complainant said she has a 12-year-old son and is working on getting a divorce from her husband.

“She had registered herself on a matrimonial website. On January 19, 2023, she received a WhatsApp message where the caller introduced himself as Vipan from Texas in America and claimed to be a doctor following which they started chatting frequently,” police said.

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After eventually persuading her to marry him, the caller requested her passport information, which the victim supplied to him via WhatsApp. The caller told her that he had all the necessary paperwork ready and said he would soon travel to India to wed her.

“The accused sent her his air ticket and told that he would reach India on February 13, 2023. On the same date, she received a call from one Shikha who claimed to be a police officer from the Delhi Airport Authority. Shikha informed the victim that one Vipan reached India to meet her but had an excess quantity of articles, dollars, and gold. Shikha sought ₹ 36,000 from the victim to release the said items. The victim transferred the money,” police added.

After two hours, the victim received a call from the same caller asking for 2,55,800 in exchange for releasing the surplus gold Vipan had brought. As a result of the victim’s continued belief in her, Vipan’s number and Shikha’s cell phone were shut off.

The victim reported the fraud to the local cyber police, who on March 6 at the cyber police station in Sector 17 registered a cheating and criminal conspiracy case.

After police conducted raids in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar and Govind Puri, the accused Peter was taken into custody on June 23.

He was found to be in possession of the mobile phone that was used in the crime as well as additional mobile phones, SIM cards, and ATM cards.