Four Nigerians arrested in India over multi-million naira romance scam
At least four Nigerians have been arrested in India over alleged fraud and impersonation offences linked to elaborate online romance and social media scams targeting Indian citizens.
The suspects identified as Chinedu, Sunday and Jules were arrested by the Gurugram Police over alleged social media fraud involving the impersonation of women to deceive victims, while a fourth suspect, 49-year-old Uchenwa, was arrested separately by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF).
According to reports published on Sunday, police recovered 19 mobile phones, one laptop, and 18 Indian and international SIM cards from Chinedu, Sunday and Jules during the operation.
Police said investigations into the Gurugram case began after a man lodged a complaint on April 25, 2025, alleging that he had been defrauded by a woman he met on Instagram.
According to investigators, the suspect convinced the victim that she had arrived in India and needed Rs 69,900 as registration fees to exchange a cheque for Indian currency at the Mumbai airport.
“The girl told him that she had arrived in India and she needed Rs 69,900 as registration fees to exchange his cheque for Indian currency at the Mumbai airport,” police said.
Authorities said the victim later realised he had been scammed after transferring the money.
Following months of investigation, police tracked and arrested the suspects in Noida late Thursday night.
Investigators disclosed that Sunday allegedly entered India illegally through Bangladesh in 2022, while Chinedu and Jules reportedly entered the country on study visas in 2018 and 2017 respectively.
“The accused used to talk to people living in India, posing as girls on social media platforms, and by gaining their trust, they committed the frauds,” a police officer was quoted as saying.
In a separate case, The Times of India reported that Uchenwa allegedly operated fake social media accounts using identities of citizens from the United States and the United Kingdom to target Indian men and women.
According to the report, victims were emotionally manipulated through online relationships and later deceived with promises of expensive gifts, luxury items and foreign currency supposedly being sent to India.
The fraud syndicate allegedly followed up with calls from individuals posing as customs, tax or remittance officials who demanded payments for customs duty, Goods and Services Tax (GST), income tax and other clearance charges before the items could be released.
The STF said the case came to light after a resident of Daliganj in Lucknow reported losing about Rs 68 lakh to the syndicate.
The victim reportedly told investigators that he received a Facebook friend request in August 2025 from a woman identified as “Doris Williams” from England.
After gaining his trust, the woman allegedly claimed she intended to visit India with nearly Rs 3 crore in cash.
Police said the victim later received calls from persons posing as customs officials who claimed the woman had been detained at the Delhi airport for carrying a large amount of foreign currency.
The complainant was initially asked to pay Rs 61,500 as customs clearance charges through a UPI account allegedly linked to the suspects.
Investigators said the fraudsters subsequently demanded multiple additional payments under various charges, leading the victim to transfer nearly Rs 40 lakh into several bank accounts.
Another suspect, posing as a remittance officer, allegedly convinced him to transfer an additional Rs 28 lakh.
The victim reportedly continued making payments until January 2026 before discovering that he had been defrauded and reporting the matter to authorities.
The STF disclosed that its cybercrime unit launched a coordinated operation under the supervision of ASP Vishal Vikram Singh, leading to Uchenwa’s arrest in Delhi through technical surveillance and intelligence gathering.
According to investigators, Uchenwa admitted during interrogation that he travelled to India in 2010 for garment business activities but later turned to cyber fraud after suffering financial losses.
The latest arrests add to a growing number of cases involving Nigerians abroad being linked to crimes including fraud, impersonation, robbery and drug trafficking.
