Police in Bagalkot, India, have arrested a Nigerian national accused of defrauding a woman from Ilkal town in the district of Rs 5.5 lakh.
Checks by Diaspora Tales show the amount, which equals 550,000 Indian rupees, is approximately N10.2 million based on recent exchange rates.
According to the Times of India, Bagalkot Superintendent of Police Siddarth Goel announced the arrest of the suspect, identified as Oliver Okechukwu, aged 47.
He was detained in Mumbai following a police investigation into the case.
Officers said Okechukwu, who lived in Shivaji Nagar Bonkode Ganv, Khairane Thane, targeted women by obtaining their personal details from matrimony websites.
Investigators allege he used the details to build trust and later defraud women who were seeking to remarry.
Police revealed that he befriended one victim, a divorcee from Ilkal, who had uploaded her information online.
Using the false identity of “Satya Amit,” and claiming to be based in London, Okechukwu promised to marry her.
About a year and a half ago, he allegedly phoned the woman claiming he had arrived in India but faced difficulties at the airport.
He said customs officers had seized his money and persuaded her that he needed financial help to recover it.
The woman was given a bank account number where she was told to deposit Rs 5.5 lakh.
Trusting his story, she transferred the money to the account.
After receiving the funds, Okechukwu reportedly stopped contacting her, raising her suspicions.
Realising she had been duped, the victim filed a complaint with the cybercrime police in Bagalkot.
SP Goel said the investigation confirmed Okechukwu had been operating under a false identity.
Police tracked his digital transactions through PhonePe and Google Pay accounts, which eventually led them to his location in Mumbai.
CCTV footage from shops where he had made purchases further helped confirm his movements.
Officers arrested him and seized four mobile phones, a laptop, and a passport during the raid.
He was brought before a local court and has since been remanded in judicial custody.
Drug Syndicate Dismantled
In a separate case, Delhi Police’s crime branch said it had busted an international methamphetamine trafficking ring.
Six suspects, including two Nigerians, were arrested in coordinated raids across Delhi, Greater Noida, and Bangalore.
According to Special CP (Crime) Devesh Srivastava, officers seized 7kg of contraband worth Rs 21 crore during the operations.
