Nigerian held in Delhi for duping Lucknow resident of ₹68L

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has arrested a Nigerian national from Delhi in connection with an international cyber fraud syndicate for allegedly duping a Lucknow resident of nearly Rs 68 lakh through fake social media profiles posing as foreign nationals.

The accused, identified as Uchenwa, a native of Olo state in Nigeria, was arrested on Friday from a house in Khanpur in South Delhi. Uchenwa, 49, had been living in Delhi for several years.

Police recovered three mobile phones and four SIM cards from his possession during the arrest.

According to STF officials, the gang created fake profiles of citizens from the United States and the United Kingdom on social media platforms and used them to befriend Indian men and women. The victims were trapped emotionally and later duped on the pretext of sending expensive gifts, foreign currency, and luxury items to India.

Investigators said victims were later contacted by people posing as customs or income tax officials who asked them to deposit money towards customs duty, GST, income tax or clearance charges to get their gift.

The STF said the investigation began after a man from Daliganj in Lucknow lodged a complaint after allegedly being cheated of around Rs 68 lakh by the gang.

The complainant said that he received a friend request on Facebook in Aug 2025 from a woman who identified herself as ‘Doris William’, purportedly from England.

After developing emotional connection, the woman allegedly told him she would visit India carrying pounds worth nearly Rs 3 crore.

Later, the victim received calls from people posing as customs officials who claimed that the foreign woman had been detained at Delhi airport because she was carrying a huge amount of foreign currency. The victim was asked to pay Rs 61,500 as customs clearance charges through a UPI account provided by the accused.

Police said after the initial payment, the fraudsters repeatedly demanded money in the name of other charges. He transferred nearly Rs 40 lakh to various accounts.

Later, another fraudster posing as a remittance officer allegedly persuaded him to transfer an additional Rs 28 lakh.

The fraudulent transactions reportedly continued till Jan 2026 before the victim realised he had been cheated and approached police.

The STF said the cyber team launched an operation under the supervision of ASP Vishal Vikram Singh. Technical surveillance and informer inputs eventually led to the arrest of the accused from Delhi.

Uchenwa admitted that he had come to India in 2010 for garment business but later shifted to cyber fraud after suffering financial losses.