The Nagpur Cyber Police have apprehended a Nigerian national residing in Mumbai for duping a medicine supplier of Rs 15.85 lakh under the guise of procuring medicine from him. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) EoW and Cyber Archit Chandak stated that three accomplices associated with the accused are also in police custody. The arrested Nigerian has been identified as Chinonso Raphael, alias Tinni Christian Augustine (37), a resident of Dombivali, Mumbai. The other arrested fraudsters include Laxman Ganpat Bagwe, Shakeel Ahmed Mohammad Yasin Sheikh, and Bablu Kumar Ramswaroop Sharma, all residents of Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

 

The case stemmed from a complaint lodged by Nilesh Jivtode, a resident of Godhani, Nagpur, who is engaged in the pharmaceutical business and had recently started into exporting. In September this year, Nilesh was contacted by the accused Nigerian, Tinni, who introduced the need for a reliable supplier in India and claimed that his company required a Coradic organic extract powder supplied by Vaishali Kumar of Mumbai. Nilesh initially ordered 1 kg of the powder upon making a payment of Rs 1.85 lakh. Soon after, Tinni again inquired about the availability of the powder and upon confirmation from Nilesh placed an order of 100 kg. Nilesh again contacted Vaishali and transferred Rs 15.85 lakh for 10 kg of the powder. However, neither the goods arrived nor did Nilesh receive a refund. He realised that he had fallen victim to a on-line scam and reported the incident to the police.

 

The police froze the bank accounts of the accused. However, Rs nine lakh had already been transferred to a Nigerian bank. A police team was dispatched to Mumbai and conducted a raid on Tinni’s residence, where he initially resisted arrest but was taken into custody. Further investigations revealed that Shakeel, Laxman, and Bablu were working in collusion with Tinni. They had opened bank accounts in their names through which the fraudulent funds were funneled. The police have identified a total of 52 such bank accounts, and are likely to make more arrests. Police Inspector Amit Dolas, API Maroti Shelke, Head Constables Shailesh, Parag, Chandrashekhar and Priya arrested the accused.

 

 

The investigation uncovered that Tinni had come to India on a tourist visa six years ago and had engaged in a clothing business while primarily being involved in fraudulent activities. He managed to purchase a luxurious flat in Nalasopara by duping several persons. Additionally, Tinni had married an Indian girl, Vaishali, whose real name is Steffi. The police have booked Steffi as an accomplice but, she remains at large. During the search of Tinni's residence, the police discovered his passport from the Republic of Liberia. Earlier, CID Mumbai unit had arrested Tinni in another fraud case which led to the confiscation of his Nigerian passport. Tinni had obtained a fraudulent Liberian passport. The police have registered a case against him under the Foreigner Act.