Two Nigerians held in Delhi for customs fraud

New Delhi [India], January 9 : Delhi Police has arrested two people for allegedly duping people on the pretext of customs clearance after befriending them on social media, police said.
According to the police official, the accused were part of an international racket that used to deceive people on the pretext of customs clearance and Reserve Bank of India fee.
The accused have been identified as Benita Gift Agene (27) and Izunna Paul Uzoma (34), natives of Nigeria.
As per the city police, they received a complaint at the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations Unit (IFSO), in which the complainant alleged that he came into contact with a UK-based girl who went by the name Rebecca on the internet.
Soon, they became friends and started chatting and calling through WhatsApp, the police said.
"She told the complainant that she was working with Citibank Power Station in the UK and wished to visit historic places in India. She also shared her flight ticket from Heathrow to Mumbai through Dubai with the complainant. On November 20 last year, he received a call from a person posing as a customs officer from Mumbai airport. The man told him that Rebecca was facing some document-related issues at the airport for which she needed some money for customs clearance," DCP IFSO Hemant Tiwary said.
They shared bank account details and directed the complainant to deposit money in their bank account.
"Initially, he refused to give any money, but she (Rebecca) started crying and promised to return the money. She also told him that her card was blocked and all her belongings were under customs clearance. Hence, he agreed to help her and initially paid Rs 50,000 only on humanitarian grounds," the officer said.
However, eventually, the complainant ended up depositing around Rs 7 lakh in different bank accounts on different dates.
Delhi Police then registered a case and launched an investigation into the matter.
The accused woman, later identified as Agene, was arrested and during interrogation, she stated that she hailed from a poor family in Nigeria, said the official, adding she had come to India to study and look for a job.
"In October 2022, she met Uzomo, the co-accused, at a club. He told her that she could earn a handsome amount of money if she joined him, as they were duping Indian people by impersonating a foreign-based friend," said DCP (IFSO) Hemant Tiwari.
Izzuna Paul Uzoma, the other accused in the case, told the police that he hails from a poor family of farmers in Nigeria, came to India in 2016 and started working as an African food supplier in Uttam Nagar, Delhi.