New Delhi: A Nigerian national has been arrested for allegedly cheating a mechanical engineer of Rs 15 lakh through a fake lottery, police said on Wednesday.
Evan Tony alias Franklyn (38), resident of Ubiaja in Nigeria who is presently residing in Mumbai, was arrested yesterday as soon as he arrived from Mumbai to IGI airport here last afternoon to collect more money from the victim, a
senior police official said.
"He had already duped Ravi Mogra of Rs 15 lakh on the pretext of giving him the lottery amount of Rs 12 crore. Mogra deposited the amount in various bank accounts provided by the accused. He even sold his house in Kondli to get the amount," Chhaya Sharma, DCP South district said.
Police has recovered two passports including a fake one reportedly issued from Congo, three cell phones, several SIM cards, fake chemical coated black dollars and an iron safe containing black Pounds.
The accused even provided Mogra the letters purportedly issued from RBI to convince him to make these payments, who credited Rs 5 lakh in various accounts of the accused and had paid Rs 10 lakh in cash.
Mogra was once called by him in a hotel in Bangalore where he and his associates handed him over an iron safe containing black pounds worth Rs 12 crore to be encashed in Indian currency through RBI account, the official said.
When the accused demanded Rs 23 lakh more, Mogra become suspicious and broke open the safe to find several bundles of black powder coated plastic feeling paper.
The gang was operating at interstate level and remains most of the time in Bombay and Bangalore.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, November 17, 2011, 00:14