A Nigerian man has been arrested by Uttarakhand special task force (STF) and state cyber cell in India.

He was arrested for allegedly duping a man from Almora of Rs 1.85 crore on the pretext of offering his son a job in US-based oil giant Shell in London.

The police, in a statement on Monday March 6, said the accused identified as Obi Philip Chekwube, was arrested from Tughlakabad, Delhi on Saturday night, March 4, 2023, during the probe of a case registered on the complaint of Suresh Arya.

Ayush Agrawal, senior superintendent of police (SSP), STF, said that Chekwube committed the fraud after contacting Arya through a fake social media account of a woman in 2017.

"After befriending Arya on Facebook, Chekwube, pretending to be a woman, told him that he can get his son to land a job in Shell, London. Arya fell into the trap and transferred money to a bank account number given by Chekwube on various occasions in the name of insurance bonds, high court verification, IMF charges, KYC fees, customs fees and others, till 2022. After realising that he has been duped, Arya lodged a complaint against the unidentified accused on January 8,” said Agrawal, adding that the accused was traced down in Delhi based on the cyber evidence.

The police have registered a case under sections 420, 120 (B) of the IPC and 66 (D) IT Act against Chekwube at the Cyber Police Station of Kumaon region in Rudrapur. 

“He was nabbed from Tughlakabad, Delhi. During the probe, it was also found that he was arrested earlier in Delhi also under violation of the Foreigners Act. He would soon be produced before a local court,” said Agrawal.

Kumaon cyber cell in-charge LM Joshi said the accused used about 25 email IDs and several SIM cards to carry out the fraud. He has been involved in similar crimes in the past. 

“His modus operandi involved creating fake social media profiles using pictures of foreign women. He would send friend requests to people and then lure them with various temptations, such as job offers abroad, investments, and gift parcels. He would then defraud the victims of large sums of money,” said Joshi.