By Ado Oyeyemi
Indian security agencies have arrested four Nigerians over alleged involvement in separate cyber fraud and impersonation schemes targeting unsuspecting victims through social media platforms.
According to reports by The Times of India monitored on Monday, three suspects identified as Chinedu, Sunday and Jules were apprehended by police authorities in Gurugram for allegedly posing as women online to swindle victims.
The police reportedly recovered 19 mobile phones, a laptop, and 18 local and international SIM cards from the suspects during the operation.
Investigators said the case originated from a complaint filed on April 25, 2025, by a man who claimed he was deceived by a woman he met on Instagram.
The victim alleged that the suspect informed him she had arrived in India and needed Rs69,900 to process the exchange of a cheque into Indian currency at the Mumbai airport.
Authorities said the complainant transferred the money before later discovering he had been defrauded.
Following technical investigations, police tracked down and arrested the trio in Noida on Thursday night.
Preliminary findings revealed that Sunday allegedly entered India illegally through Bangladesh in 2022, while Chinedu and Jules reportedly travelled into the country on student visas in 2018 and 2017 respectively.
A police officer quoted in the report said the suspects allegedly operated fake female identities on social media to gain the trust of victims before defrauding them.
In a separate operation, the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force arrested a 49-year-old Nigerian identified as Uchenwa over another alleged cyber fraud syndicate.
The STF accused him of creating fake online profiles using identities linked to citizens of the United States and the United Kingdom to lure Indian victims.
Investigators alleged that victims were manipulated emotionally and promised expensive gifts, foreign currencies and luxury items purportedly being shipped into India.
The victims were later contacted by individuals posing as customs and tax officials who allegedly demanded payments for customs duties, GST, income tax and clearance charges.
The case reportedly came to light after a resident of Daliganj in Lucknow informed authorities that he lost about Rs68 lakh to the syndicate.
According to investigators, the victim received a Facebook friend request in August 2025 from a woman identified as “Doris Williams,” who claimed to be based in England.
After establishing communication, the woman allegedly informed the victim that she intended to travel to India with funds valued at nearly Rs3 crore.
The victim was later contacted by persons claiming to be customs officials, who alleged that the woman had been detained at the Delhi airport for carrying huge amounts of foreign currency.
Police said the complainant initially paid Rs61,500 as customs clearance charges through a UPI-linked account connected to the suspects.
The fraudsters allegedly continued demanding additional payments under different pretexts, leading the victim to transfer nearly Rs40 lakh to multiple bank accounts.
Another individual posing as a remittance officer reportedly persuaded him to send an additional Rs28 lakh.
Authorities said the victim continued making payments until January 2026 before realising he had been scammed and reporting the incident to the police.
The STF disclosed that its cybercrime unit, operating under the supervision of ASP Vishal Vikram Singh, later traced and arrested Uchenwa in Delhi through intelligence gathering and technical surveillance.
During interrogation, Uchenwa allegedly admitted travelling to India in 2010 for garment business activities before venturing into cyber fraud after suffering financial setbacks.
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The arrests come amid increasing reports linking some Nigerians abroad to crimes including internet fraud, impersonation, robbery and drug-related offences.
