Three Nigerians arrested in Hyderabad for lottery fraud

Four people including three Nigerians have been arrested here for cheating a man to the tune of Rs.35 lakh in a lottery fraud case, police said.

Cyber Crime Police of Central Crime Station made the arrests on a complaint that the accused extracted money from him after sending a mail that he won a lottery worth 600,000 pounds.

The arrested Nigerians have been identified as Peter Austin (29), Ebohon Felix Omonuwa (26) and Uzonicha Daniel Iwenwanne (26), who were all staying in Hyderabad. Peter's wife Steffi Ebohon (24), a resident of Mumbai, has also been arrested.

According to police, the accused extracted money from the victim on different pretexts like registration charges, tax and customs clearance, high court certificate, approval from the finance ministry, a Bombay High Court affidavit, Reserve Bank of India processing fees and opening of an online account.

The money was transferred to 16 bank accounts in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Mumbai.

Police recovered from the accused cash of Rs.4 lakh, a Honda Civic Car worth Rs.4 lakh, two ICICI Bank accounts of accused with balance of Rs.4 lakh, household articles worth Rs.2.5 lakh, six mobile phones and other items.