Paul Ofori, a 36-year-old Nigerian male, was arrested in Delhi after allegedly duping Indian women. He had befriended them online under fake identities and asked them to pay customs clearance on the pretext of receiving gifts, police said on Thursday, August 25.

Police stated that a woman filed a complaint on July 25 alleging she had connected with Henry Patrick via social media. They became close friends and began chatting.

One of the conversations ended with the caller telling her that he was sending gifts to her. The caller identified herself as a customs officer.

A senior officer from the police stated that a parcel that was addressed to her had been delivered and needed custom clearance.


She was required to pay Rs 255,000 as customs fees in order to receive the parcel. The amount was transferred by the complainant, but no parcel was sent to her.

When she was again asked for more money for customs clearance, the woman lodged the complaint, the officer said.

During the investigation, it was discovered that the IP addresses used to access the social media accounts came from Nigeria.

The call detail records of the mobile numbers provided by the complainant were obtained and the IMEI search triangulated the location of the mobile phone to Nilothi Extension, Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Amrutha Guguloth said.

Police conducted a raid in Chander Vihar, Nilothi Extension, and found Ofori. The mobile phone used in the crime was recovered from his possession, along with other mobile phones and laptops, containing data related to the crime, the DCP said.

The accused disclosed that he and his associates used to create fake social media profiles in the name of doctors settled in the United Kingdom. After that, they would contact Indian women through social media platforms.

After luring them over by sending expensive gifts, they asked for money on the pretext of customs clearance at the Indian airport.

He also provided names of his associates, who arranged the bank accounts for siphoning off the cheated amount, Guguloth said.

After the analysis of the accused's mobile phones and the details provided during interrogation, around 20 women victims have been identified and eight bank accounts used for depositing cheated money have also been identified.