3 Nigerians among 4 held for cheating RBI official

Hyderabad: The Cyber Crime police of Cyberabad arrested four persons including three Nigerians for cheating an RBI official to the tune of Rs 22 lakh in the name of Samsung lottery, the police said on Monday.

According to Cyber Crime police, the accused were identified as Gauza Aristide, Omeke Eric Tochukwu, Okwereaku Tochukwu (Nigerian nationals), who were residing in New Delhi and Anand Nagesia of West Bengal. The accused cheated the victim to the tune of Rs 22 lakh, by claiming that he won Samsung lottery of Rs 4.5 crore.

The investigation revealed that in the year 2015, the victim, Ashish Patel, an Accounts Officer at RBI received a message that he won the lottery from Samsung company worth Rs 45 million. Believing the message, the victim contacted the accussed and got trapped in the web. The accused collected Rs 21,95,000 from him through various instalments. Later, the victim requested the accused to meet in New Delhi, but he avoided. Realising that he was cheated, the victim filed a complaint with the police.

After thorough investigation into the matter, a team led by Sub-Inspectors, K Vijayavardhan and K Suresh Kumar were deputed to New Delhi, where they apprehended all the accused. On interrogation, the accused confessed about the crime. After recording the confession statements, the police seized the incriminating material of evidence, including passports, mobile phones, laptops and data cards from their possession. The accused were produced before a local court in New Delhi for Transit Remand and were remanded in judicial custody.