Gurugram police arrested three Nigerian nationals late on Thursday in Noida for allegedly running a fraud that began with a fake Instagram friendship and ended with a complaint in CyberCrime West Police Station. Police said the men posed as women on social media, took money from people they contacted in India, and were later produced in court before being sent on one day of police remand.
The case began on April 25, 2025, when a man filed a complaint with the CyberCrime Police Station, West. He said he met a girl on Instagram and started talking to her, then was told she had arrived in India and needed Rs 69,900 as registration fees to exchange his cheque for Indian currency at Mumbai airport. He transferred the money to the bank account she gave him, only to realise he had been cheated after she asked for more.
Police identified the arrested men as Chinedu, James Sunday and Jules Cacau, all residents of Nigeria. At least 19 mobile phones, one laptop and 18 Indian and international SIM cards were recovered from them. Investigators said the trio used girls’ IDs on social media platforms to contact people in India, build trust and then ask them to travel to India to meet them before extracting money in the name of registration fees for currency exchange and anti-money laundering.
The Gurugram police spokesperson said during questioning that James Sunday entered India illegally via Bangladesh in 2022, while Chinedu came on a study visa in 2018 and Jules arrived on a study visa in 2017. Police also said the men had no valid visas or passports at the time of arrest, and sections of the Passport Act and the Foreigners Act were added to the FIR. That move turns the case from a straightforward cyber complaint into a broader probe into how foreign nationals allegedly stayed and operated in India.
The complaint and arrest fit a familiar pattern in cyber fraud cases, where fake online identities are used to draw victims into private chats before money is demanded under false pretenses. Here, the twist was the claim that the woman was in India and needed cash tied to an airport exchange, a detail that gave the request a veneer of urgency. Police are now questioning the accused, and the evidence recovered from their possession may help trace whether others were targeted before the Noida arrest.
For the complainant, the money transfer was the turning point. For investigators, it was the start of a case that now spans impersonation, alleged cheating and immigration violations, with the three suspects held while police continue to examine their digital trail.
