Jackpot scam: 6 Nigerians held

Six Nigerians were among eight people arrested by the Chembur police for their alleged involvement in a fake US currency racket. The arrests were made from Marine Drive, Colaba, Mira Road, Pydhonie and a five-star hotel. The police also recovered fake $10,000.

The police said the Nigerians  — Umueze Victor Austine, Mezie Nlebedum, Prince Iyke Okadigbo, Chukwudi Cletuside, Abdalla Ibrahim Badamos, and Peter Arinze Akabueze — posed as South African diplomats to cheat people. They possessed a pen drive and CDs containing data and procedures to make fake US currency, immigration stamps of South Africa, US and India, and receipts with symbols representing the South African government. The also had chemicals for printing fake currency. The other two, both Indians, have been accused of helping the Nigerians.

The scamsters have been charged under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code. Senior Police Inspector PP Boparai said the Rajasthan Crime Branch had approached the Mumbai police last month after a woman in Udaipur was duped of Rs9 lakh. According to the Rajasthan Crime Branch, the scamsters mailed her saying she had won a million dollar jackpot. She was asked to pay Rs9 lakh towards processing fees, through an ICICI bank account, which she did. She was told that she would receive the prize money in dollars. She was also shown the money they were carrying.

Another victim from Mumbai, requesting anonymity, told DNA, “The scamsters got in touch with me through email in May, and informed me that I had won an online jackpot. They asked me to pay Rs15 lakh towards processing fees. I handed them the money and as surety they left their passports with me. Since then they have been absconding. The passports, which seem original, turned out to be fakes.” He said he was cheated by two of the Nigerians arrested.

Assistant Police Inspector Rajendra Sangle said, “We helped the Udaipur police nab the scamsters. We also investigated the bank accounts. The ICICI bank statements showed the accounts belonged to Mustafa Palitanwala, who worked with ICICI’s credit card department and Dinesh Shetty, manager with a city-based five-star hotel.”

The two allowed the scamsters to use their accounts, while Shetty allowed them stay in the hotel he was employed in, Sangle said.