Nigerian held for cheating woman on matrimonial site

Thane: The police have arrested a 31-year-old Nigerian national for allegedly duping a woman of Rs 1.57 lakh after posting a fake profile on a matrimonial site. Last month, the man posed as an Indian and posted the fake profile on the matrimonial site. The woman, who was looking for a suitable match, interacted with him online, the city police said in a release issued here today. The man gradually gained confidence of the woman by chatting with her and some days later called her up saying he had arrived at the airport in New Delhi. He told the woman that since he carried excess luggage, he needed to pay for it in the Indian currency to the customs officials. He then sought money from her to pay for the excess luggage, the police said. The woman, not suspecting anything amiss, allegedly transferred Rs 1.57 lakh into the account number provided by the man. However, later she could not contact the man and realised that he had duped her, the police said. Subsequently, she filed a complaint with the Wagle Estate police who registered an offence under IPC section 320 (cheating). The cyber unit of the Thane police's crime branch probed the offence, and after gathering details about the man from the matrimonial site, the sleuths went to New Delhi and arrested the Nigerian from there on September 11. The police also seized a laptop, five mobile phones, a modem, three SIM cards, two ATM cards of different banks, three passports and Rs 66,000 cash from an apartment where the man was staying in the national capital. The police said the investigation conducted so far in the case revealed that the man cheated two more women in the same manner. The police brought to accused to Thane and yesterday produced him before a magistrate who remanded him in police custody till September 18, the release said.