New Delhi [India], July 20 (ANI): The Delhi Police Crime Branch arrested seven members of a cheating syndicate, including five Indians and two Nigerian nationals, who had been operating a nationwide scam using fake lottery and gift schemes, police officials said on Sunday.

According to DCP (Crime Branch) Vikram Singh, the gang duped people by offering fake lottery tickets and prizes, often by impersonating women or foreign businessmen on social media platforms like Facebook and Messenger.

'Five Indians and two Nigerians of a cheating syndicate operating nationwide have been arrested... They used to gain people's confidence by offering fake lottery tickets, gift or prize schemes, or by impersonating a woman,' DCP Singh told ANI.

The gang collected personal data from Facebook and then sent messages to people through Messenger. The foreign nationals, pretending to be businessmen, called victims from these accounts, built trust over months, and then demanded money under various pretexts.

'Foreign nationals would call the victims posing as businessmen... They would run an account for 5 to 6 months and then deactivate it,' the DCP further said.

The police identified that the group was currently operating an account under the name 'Vikas', through which 20-25 victims had already been traced. Initial investigations revealed that the syndicate had been active for over a year.

'Sunday John came to India in 2023. He had a business visa that had expired. He was living illegally here. The second Nigerian came on a medical visa in 2013, and his visa has also expired,' DCP Singh later added.

Among the arrested Indians, Shahrukh and Shahid Raza were identified as the main conspirators. Shahid Raza had previously been jailed in 2016 for a similar crime. He was the first to connect with the Nigerians, while Shahrukh handled the cash flow, Rakesh arranged for the opening of bank accounts, and Faiz created fake Aadhaar cards, the police said.

'Shahrukh used to arrange the money flow. Rakesh used to get the bank accounts opened. Faiz used to get fake Aadhar cards made,' Singh added.

The police found around Rs 3 lakh in cash, along with nine mobile phones, nine passbooks, three cheque books, and multiple ATM cards from the accused. The Nigerians got money deposited into their accounts, while the Indian members would withdraw the money and hand it over to them in cash.

Further investigation is currently underway. (ANI)