Indian authorities have arrested four Nigerians over alleged involvement in cyber fraud and impersonation schemes targeting unsuspecting victims through social media platforms.
The suspects, identified as Chinedu, Sunday, Jules and Uchenwa, were apprehended in separate operations conducted by security agencies in India, according to reports by The Times of India monitored on Monday.
Three of the suspects — Chinedu, Sunday and Jules — were arrested by the Gurugram Police over alleged online romance scams in which they reportedly posed as women on social media to deceive victims.
Police authorities said the suspects were tracked following a complaint filed by a victim on April 25, 2025.
The complainant reportedly told investigators that he met a woman on Instagram who later claimed to have arrived in India and requested Rs 69,900 to process a cheque exchange at the Mumbai airport.
Investigators said the victim transferred the money before realising he had fallen prey to fraudsters.
Following intelligence gathering and digital tracking, police reportedly arrested the suspects in Noida late Thursday.
Security operatives were said to have recovered 19 mobile phones, one laptop, and 18 local and international SIM cards from the suspects.
According to the police, Sunday allegedly entered India illegally through Bangladesh in 2022, while Chinedu and Jules reportedly arrived in the country on student visas in 2018 and 2017 respectively.
A police officer quoted in the report said the suspects allegedly created fake female identities on social media platforms to gain the confidence of victims before defrauding them.
In a related development, the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force arrested another Nigerian national, Uchenwa, over a separate alleged cyber fraud operation.
The 49-year-old suspect was accused of operating fake social media accounts using identities linked to citizens of the United States and the United Kingdom to target Indian residents.
Investigators alleged that victims were manipulated emotionally and promised expensive gifts, foreign currencies and luxury items purportedly sent from abroad.
The report stated that victims were later contacted by individuals posing as customs and tax officials who demanded payments for customs duties, clearance fees and other charges before the items could be released.
One of the complainants, a resident of Daliganj in Lucknow, reportedly told authorities he lost about Rs 68 lakh to the syndicate.
The victim said he received a Facebook friend request in August 2025 from a woman identified as “Doris Williams,” who claimed to be based in England.
According to investigators, the woman later informed the victim she intended travelling to India with nearly Rs 3 crore in cash.
The victim was subsequently contacted by persons claiming to be customs officials, who allegedly informed him that the woman had been detained at Delhi airport for carrying foreign currency.
He was reportedly instructed to make several payments, beginning with Rs 61,500 for customs clearance.
Police said the victim continued transferring money under various pretexts until January 2026 before discovering the fraud and reporting the matter.
The STF disclosed that Uchenwa was eventually arrested in Delhi after a surveillance operation led by its cybercrime unit under the supervision of ASP Vishal Vikram Singh.
According to the report, the suspect allegedly confessed that he travelled to India in 2010 for garment trading but later ventured into cyber fraud after suffering business setbacks.
The arrests are the latest in a series of cases linking some Nigerians abroad to cybercrime, impersonation and other criminal activities.
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