3 Nigerians, Indian woman held for duping people with fake

Three Nigerians and an Indian woman have been arrested in the national capital for allegedly duping people of crores of rupees with fake lottery schemes, the police said today.

The Delhi Police Crime Branch, which made the arrests, said the accused used to send text messages and e-mails to the unsuspecting victims informing them that they had won huge amounts in lottery schemes.

"Then they used to seek details of the victims such as their names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mails. They used to send false documents to the victims and then ask them to deposit money for income tax, service charge, conversion charge etc.," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) G Ram Gopal Naik.

On June 22, Sardar Kamaljeet Singh from Punjab lodged a police complaint in the national capital alleging that he was cheated to the tune of around Rs 1.5 crore by a gang of Nigerians and an Indian woman. The complainant was called to Delhi by the accused to pay the last instalment.

On June 23, a trap was laid by the Crime Branch sleuths at a bus stand in south Delhi's Malviya Nagar and two of the accused were arrested. Four mobile phones, fake US dollars, three laptops and passports were seized from their possession, said Naik.

Two more arrests, including that of the Indian woman, were made subsequently.

The Nigerians were staying in India on expired visas, said the police.

The Nigerian High Commission has been informed of the arrests.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)