No fewer than four Nigerians have been arrested in India over alleged fraud and impersonation-related offences, according to reports by Indian authorities.
Three of the suspects identified as Chinedu, Sunday and Jules were reportedly arrested by Gurugram police for allegedly operating social media scams in which they posed as women online to deceive unsuspecting victims.
Police investigations reportedly began after a man filed a complaint on April 25, 2025, claiming he was defrauded by a woman he met on Instagram. The victim alleged that the suspect told him she had arrived in India and needed Rs 69,900 to process a cheque exchange at the Mumbai airport.
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After transferring the money, the victim later discovered he had been scammed and alerted authorities.
Investigators reportedly tracked the suspects to Noida, where they were arrested during a late-night operation. Security operatives recovered 19 mobile phones, a laptop, and 18 Indian and foreign SIM cards from the suspects.
According to police, Sunday allegedly entered India illegally through Bangladesh in 2022, while Chinedu and Jules reportedly travelled into the country on study visas in 2018 and 2017 respectively.
Authorities accused the trio of impersonating women on social media platforms to gain the trust of people living in India before allegedly defrauding them.
In a separate operation, the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force reportedly arrested another Nigerian suspect identified as 49-year-old Uchenwa in Delhi over alleged cyber fraud activities.
Investigators claimed Uchenwa used fake social media profiles bearing identities of citizens from the United States and the United Kingdom to target Indian men and women.
Victims were allegedly manipulated emotionally and later convinced to pay various charges tied to fake gifts, foreign currency consignments and luxury packages supposedly sent into India.
The case reportedly came to light after a resident of Daliganj in Lucknow complained that he lost nearly Rs 68 lakh to the fraud syndicate.
According to investigators, the victim received a Facebook friend request in August 2025 from a woman identified as “Doris Williams” who claimed to be based in England. After building trust, the suspect allegedly told the victim she intended travelling to India with valuables worth about Rs 3 crore.
The victim was later contacted by individuals posing as customs and remittance officials who demanded payments for customs duties, GST, income tax and clearance charges.
Police said the victim initially transferred Rs 61,500 before allegedly making several additional payments amounting to nearly Rs 40 lakh. Another suspect reportedly convinced him to transfer an extra Rs 28 lakh.
Authorities said the victim continued sending money until January 2026 before realising he had been defrauded and reporting the matter.
The STF said Uchenwa was arrested through intelligence gathering and technical surveillance during an operation supervised by ASP Vishal Vikram Singh.
According to investigators, Uchenwa admitted he travelled to India in 2010 for garment business activities before allegedly turning to cyber fraud after suffering business losses.
The arrests add to growing reports linking some Nigerians abroad to crimes including fraud, impersonation, robbery and drug trafficking.
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