Bengaluru: The next time you get excited seeing a post of a luxury car being offered for a pittance on websites such as OLX and Quikr, beware!
A gang of six Nigerians has been running a racket cheating car buyers online. The Bengaluru police have recently busted two such rackets and arrested eight Nigerians, who allegedly duped hundreds of customers in the past one year.
The accused, Bolaji Lawal, 36, Averil, 24, Chika Okpala, 30, Okjie Colling, 28, Oja L, 30, and Christian Obinna, 31, are now behind the bars in Bengaluru after falling into a trap set by the police.
According to the police, the six-member gang has cheated more than 100 people across South India, including doctors, chartered accountants, businessmen, and even advocates.
The large-scale fraud would have gone undetected had it not been for a victim who approached the police seeking help.
In a similar case, another Nigerian gang of two — Ehibhi Ehis, 27, and Dolly, 28, — were nabbed for trying to cheat a buyer online.
The police believe that there could be multiple such gangs operating in South India and cautioned the buyers to remain alert while conducting transactions on such sites.
The gang would identify high-end cars parked in Kempe Gowda International Airport (Bengaluru), city central railway station and bus stations in the long-term parking bays.
They would create fake profiles on OLX and Quikr and upload pictures of such cars offering to sell them at cheap prices.
To extort money from customers, the gang members would ask the buyer to visit the parking lot for a physical inspection of the car.
There, one of the gang members would pose as Customs officer and show that she (Bolaji) had the car keys as the seller had to urgently leave for another city.
Bolaji would then ask the customer to pay the pending car parking fee dues (between Rs 35,000 and Rs 75,000) and instruct the buyer to take possession of the car on a later date.
“Three such customers have deposited the money in various bank accounts after falling into their trap. Once the money was deposited, the seller (gang member) would switch off the mobile phone,” said an officer.
Bengaluru City police commissioner M.N. Reddi said all the accused were staying in a rented accommodation in the city from where they were apprehended.
“We have found out that this gang has duped several customers across the country. We will take up investigation one by one,” Reddi said.
The arrested Nigerians were also involved in collecting funds online by setting up trusts in the names of US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.
The Nigerian gang used more than 4,000 mobile phone SIM cards in the past year to run their racket. Meanwhile, OLX and Quikr did not respond to queries on the fraud.
(Mail Today)
A gang of six Nigerians has been running a racket cheating car buyers online. The Bengaluru police have recently busted two such rackets and arrested eight Nigerians, who allegedly duped hundreds of customers in the past one year.
The accused, Bolaji Lawal, 36, Averil, 24, Chika Okpala, 30, Okjie Colling, 28, Oja L, 30, and Christian Obinna, 31, are now behind the bars in Bengaluru after falling into a trap set by the police.
According to the police, the six-member gang has cheated more than 100 people across South India, including doctors, chartered accountants, businessmen, and even advocates.
The large-scale fraud would have gone undetected had it not been for a victim who approached the police seeking help.
In a similar case, another Nigerian gang of two — Ehibhi Ehis, 27, and Dolly, 28, — were nabbed for trying to cheat a buyer online.
The police believe that there could be multiple such gangs operating in South India and cautioned the buyers to remain alert while conducting transactions on such sites.
The gang would identify high-end cars parked in Kempe Gowda International Airport (Bengaluru), city central railway station and bus stations in the long-term parking bays.
They would create fake profiles on OLX and Quikr and upload pictures of such cars offering to sell them at cheap prices.
To extort money from customers, the gang members would ask the buyer to visit the parking lot for a physical inspection of the car.
There, one of the gang members would pose as Customs officer and show that she (Bolaji) had the car keys as the seller had to urgently leave for another city.
Bolaji would then ask the customer to pay the pending car parking fee dues (between Rs 35,000 and Rs 75,000) and instruct the buyer to take possession of the car on a later date.
“Three such customers have deposited the money in various bank accounts after falling into their trap. Once the money was deposited, the seller (gang member) would switch off the mobile phone,” said an officer.
Bengaluru City police commissioner M.N. Reddi said all the accused were staying in a rented accommodation in the city from where they were apprehended.
“We have found out that this gang has duped several customers across the country. We will take up investigation one by one,” Reddi said.
The arrested Nigerians were also involved in collecting funds online by setting up trusts in the names of US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.
The Nigerian gang used more than 4,000 mobile phone SIM cards in the past year to run their racket. Meanwhile, OLX and Quikr did not respond to queries on the fraud.
(Mail Today)
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