The Bhopal cyber cell police have arrested a Nigerian man and his Indian (woman) friend for duping people on the pretext of sending them expensive gifts. Both the accused were arrested from Delhi, police said on Tuesday. The accused have been identified as Augustin Uidekwey and Lalhmunsiyami. Uidekwey is a resident of Nigeria and is living in India since 2015. His visa has expired. The police have written a letter, post his arrest in the case, to the embassy.
Their modus operandi was simple. They would befriend women and men on social networking sites after thorough research. They would then take their contact numbers and would start chatting on WhatsApp. After befriending and taking them into confidence, the accused would call them and say that they have sent a gift to them from the US, UK.
Later, the victim would receive a call that their gift has arrived and they will have to pay customs duty. The victim would pay customs duty amount sought by the accused in a bank account. Once the amount was deposited, the accused would stop contact victims who kept waiting for their gifts. Most victims hesitate in approaching police after being duped. This is the reason that police do not have the exact number of people duped by them.
The recent arrest was made after a woman filed a complaint with police. The police have come to know of three victims in the case. They are trying to dig out details of others who have been duped by them, said cyber cell police.
Studied till class 5
The police said that both the accused lived in Delhi as partners. They have studied till class 5 and 8 respectively. Police said a similar fraud was reported in September 2019 wherein the accused had duped victims of Rs 71 lakh. One of the accused in the case is on the run.
