2 Nigerians among 6 arrested for running lottery scam in Delhi
'He revealed that victims were duped through fake lottery schemes and were induced to transfer money into designated accounts. They were promised significant wins in returns. These funds were subsequently withdrawn by Raza and handed over to his Nigerian associates,' said Vikram Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime).
Raza revealed the name of the Nigerian mastermind, Shedrack Onainor, 29, who was allegedly residing illegally in India. The police conducted a raid at Khanpur and arrested Onainor.
'Onainor arrived in India on a medical visa in 2013, which expired in 2018, but he continued to stay illegally and engaged in cheating Indian citizens by luring them with fake lotteries, gifts, and parcels to earn easy money. He operated with his Nigerian associates and collected cheated money from Indian accomplices Raza and his son-in-law Shahrukh, which was later shared among his Nigerian partners,' DCP Singh said.
The police said that Onainar disclosed that he had been running the scam since 2023, after meeting another Nigerian national, Liberty, in Delhi.
'Liberty arrived in India on a business visa in 2023. Although his visa expired the following year, he continued to reside in the country unlawfully. During this period, he became actively involved in fraudulent schemes, duping Indian citizens by luring them with fictitious offers of high-value gifts, lottery winnings, and parcels, as a means to generate illicit income,' DCP Singh said. On Onainor's instance, the police arrested Liberty from his house in Mehrauli.
The police said Liberty revealed that he would travel across Delhi in an autorickshaw to collect the defrauded amount in cash from Shahrukh and Raza.
On July 10, the police arrested Shahrukh, who subsequently revealed the names of two more associates, Rakesh and Vikas. The brothers would facilitate the creation of SIM cards that would later be used to set up mule accounts, according to the police.
'They fraudulently altered Aadhaar addresses (to Delhi-based locations), obtained new SIM cards, and opened 1820 bank accounts in Vikas's name using forged documents,' said DCP Singh.
The police said Shahrukh and Raza would then create UPI addresses based on these accounts and use them to transfer the defrauded money. Shahid would then take out the cash and hand it out to his Nigerian associates, they added. On Shahrukh's instance, the police arrested Rakesh and Vikas on July 17.
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