Noida: Noida Police on Sunday arrested six foreigners for duping hundreds of women whom they contacted through dating apps like Bumble, Tinder, Hinge and OkCupid, an official said. Among those held are five Nigerian nationals and a Bhutanese woman and their victims also included some from European countries. One of their recent victims was a journalist working with a news channel in Noida film city, police said.
The accused men are natives of Delta state in Nigeria and had arrived in India in 2021 on education and medical visas for a period of six months. The Bhutanese woman is from Trongsa and was married to one of the accused men, thus becoming a gang member. However, they were currently living in the Supertech Golf Country along the Yamuna Expressway without valid documents, according to police.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Noida) Harish Chander said the gang was busted after an FIR was lodged at the Sector 20 police station over a complaint of fraud by a woman residing in the city. These people used dating apps to get in touch with women and identified themselves as doctors residing in countries like the Netherlands and the US among others, Chander said.
"They would talk to women and take them into confidence after expressing interest in a relationship and marriage. Suddenly, they would inform them that they have arrived in India with a lot of cash in foreign currency and have been caught by the customs official, urging their help in securing their release. They would seek some fund transfer which they promised to return. Nut the story would turn out to be false and the women would later realise that they had been duped, Chander said.
An investigation was carried out after which six people, including five Nigerian men and a Bhutanese woman, have been arrested, the officer told reporters. Primary investigation has revealed that the gang worked in an organised manner for last over two years while staying here. It's difficult to tell the exact number of victims at this point of time, but it is estimated that the number runs into hundreds, the DCP said.
We are working on analysis of the data and chats that we have got from them to further ascertain facts in the case, he said, adding police are also verifying the status of their visas and passports to determine if they were legally staying in India. Those arrested have been identified as Okolie Prosper, Okolie Stephen, Okosindhi Michael, Umad Roland all Nigerians, and Kunjgmo, the Bhutanese woman, police said.
Police said they recovered 17 mobile phones, three laptops, a two-wheeler, three passports and Rs 40,000 from the accused and have also seized a bank account linked to them that has Rs 1.25 lakh. The FIR has been lodged under Indian Penal Code section 420 (cheating) and under provisions of the Information Technology Act and the accused were produced before a local magistrate who has remanded them in judicial custody, the police added. (PTI)
