Nigerian national held with wads of US currency-sized papers, chemical

A Nigerian national who planned to dupe gullible people by selling them US currency-sized blank papers that turned into dollars, though fake, after a chemical was applied has been arrested in Delhi, police said on Tuesday.

Gabriel Blessing Efe was detained on June 2 at the Indira Gandhi International airport here while leaving for Kolkata, police added.

Security officers suspected Gabriel after wads of papers of the size of US currency notes and a bottle of chemical were detected by X-ray machine during his luggage check.

Gabriel was detained and taken to domestic airport police station, Deputy Commissioner of Police Sanjay Bhatia told IANS.

"During questioning, he confessed to his real identity and that his passport and visa in the name of Mike Danny Efe were forged," Bhatia said.

Fourteen wads of paper, each having 100 pieces of plain paper, and a bottle of chemical were seized.

A case of forgery was registered against him.

Police said two Nigerian nationals -- Tonny based in Kolkata and Oscar -- were also involved in the racket.

"Gabriel and Tonny planned to cheat a businessman by selling him US dollars in plain paper form at cheap rates which could be then converted into currency after chemical treatment," the officer said.

Police have sought records from the Immigration Department regarding the travel details of the accused.

--IANS

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