3 Nigerians cheat AP couple, held in Bengaluru

Hyderabad/Bengaluru: Three Nigerian nationals were arrested in Bengaluru for allegedly cheating a couple here of over Rs 1 lakh under the pretext of offering them jobs in the US, the police said on Monday.

The police suspect that the three have also cheated people in Germany, Indonesia, Bulgaria, Lebanon, Brazil, Peru and Morocco through various online frauds, including posting fake advertisements on e-commerce portals. 

The accused, Emeka Santos, Chika Mitchille and Noah Simisola, were arrested on Sunday. The three landed in India on a two-month visa in 2011 and have been staying illegally since then.

Rachakonda Commissioner of Police Mahesh Bhagwat said they have allegedly duped several people across the world through various online frauds. They had allegedly sent a “joining letter” to a city-based man, whose resume was uploaded on various job portals by his wife on March 4. They sent a mail to the man stating that his resume was shortlisted for a US-based trading and services company.

After the couple submitted the educational documents and passport of the man as was asked, they were told to deposit money in different bank accounts towards interview charges, visa processing fee, anti-terrorism certificate fee, flight ticket etc. Subsequently, the couple deposited Rs 1,03,600, Mr Bhagwat said.

He said the couple grew suspicious after they were told to deposit more money, and subsequently lodged a complaint.

The police seized eight laptops, 17 mobile phones, two external hard drives, five data cards, a pen drive and other “material” from the Nigerians.