3 Nigerian men get five years in jail for online fraud with Hardoi teacher

Lucknow: Chief judicial magistrate Richa Verma on Saturday sentenced three members of a Nigerian cyber fraud gang to five years of imprisonment each for defrauding a woman assistant teacher of over Rs 6.3 lakh through an online scam. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 75,000 on each convict, with an additional 15 days' jail time in case of non-payment.According to prosecution officer Anil Kumar, the case was filed by Ruchi Singh, a resident of Aashanagar locality and a teacher in the basic education department.On May 30, 2020, she lodged an FIR stating that she received a message on May 12, 2020, from an international number claiming to be from London (UK). The sender introduced himself as "Deepak Lee" and also provided an email ID.Shortly after, the accused called her and claimed to find her contact through a matrimonial site. They began conversing over WhatsApp, and he informed her that he sent a parcel. A link and tracking number were provided, which initially showed the parcel at a UK airport and later in Delhi. It was claimed that the parcel was held due to customs fees.A woman later called Singh, impersonating a customs officer, and tricked her into transferring Rs 6,31,548 to various bank accounts under the pretence of customs clearance charges. When the parcel never arrived, Singh filed a complaint at Kotwali police station on the directions of the SP.During the investigation, three Nigerian nationals — Nelson Chigaogejimu from Anambra, Francis Emeka, and Udala Chukwudi Patrick Jr. — were identified as the culprits. Police filed a chargesheet against them under sections related to cheating, forgery, the Information Technology Act, and the Foreigners Act, 1960. The trio were arrested from Delhi on Oct 17, 2020 and have been in jail since, said Hardoi superintendent of police Neeraj Jadaun.The court found all three guilty of preparing forged documents and using them to deceive the victim under the guise of international parcel delivery.