The Punjab State Police in India has disclosed that at least seven nationals from Ghana and Nigeria have been nabbed for allegedly defrauding over 350 victims.
The accused, all men between 25 and 35, reportedly scammed the victims of more than $94,000, equivalent to approximately GHS 976,660.
According to Indian newspaper The Indian Express, the suspects were arrested by the Mohali Cyber Crime Cell of the Punjab Police during a sting operation.
The exercise resulted in the seizure of 79 smartphones, four laptops including two Apple MacBooks, 99 SIM cards, and the discovery of 31 fake bank accounts.
While speaking to the media, the Senior Superintendent of Police Harmandeep Singh Hans revealed that the suspects disguised themselves to build a rapport with the affected individuals. He noted the police used intelligence to track down the criminals.
“The accused allegedly used fake social media profiles to befriend Indian and foreign nationals. They would promise expensive gifts from abroad and later claim that customs had held the parcel, demanding money under the guise of clearance fees or taxes. Using advanced cyber tools and covert strategies, our team managed to apprehend the culprits,” he added.
The suspects have been remanded in police custody for two days to assist with further investigations. This is not the first time Nigerian nationals have been arrested in the country. Recently, the Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau in India uncovered another scheme involving Nigerian nationals who were also arrested for drug trafficking.
The arrest led to the discovery of a syndicate that sustained its criminal enterprise through forged documents, visa violations, and fake marriages.
Fraud schemes are an increasing global concern. Earlier this year, an international police operation targeting vehicle crime in West Africa led to the detection of approximately 150 stolen vehicles and the seizure of more than 75 vehicles.
Coordinated by INTERPOL and carried out by national law enforcement agencies in 12 West African countries, the operation—codenamed ‘Safe Wheels’—also initiated 18 new investigations and uncovered the involvement of two organized crime groups.
Most of the stolen vehicles detected through INTERPOL’s Stolen Motor Vehicle (SMV) database were trafficked from Canada, while many had also been reported stolen in France, Germany, and the Netherlands.
INTERPOL’s SMV database allows police in the organization’s 196 member countries to run a check against a suspicious vehicle and find out instantly whether it has been reported as stolen. During the two-week operational phase (17-30 March), law enforcement in participating countries established an average of 46 checkpoints each day to inspect a total of 12,600 vehicles, checking their details against INTERPOL’s SMV database.
Out of the vehicles seized or flagged as stolen, Toyota models were the most represented, followed by Peugeot and Honda. Both land and sea routes were used to traffic stolen vehicles detected during the operation.
In Lagos, during checks of freight containers purportedly from Canada, Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) officers discovered six vehicles—Toyota and Lexus models—four of which showed clear signs of break-in. Checks against INTERPOL’s SMV database confirmed that all six vehicles were reported stolen in Canada in 2024. Investigative collaboration is ongoing between the NCS and Canada’s INTERPOL National Central Bureau.