A 39-year-old foreign national was arrested for allegedly running a herbal oil scam and duping at least two people of ₹1.5 crore, the police said.
DCP (Cyber Crime Unit) Anyesh Roy said that the accused was identified as Gilbert Okoye Pedro, a Nigerian national. He came to India 10 years ago and was overstaying.
The police said that they received a complaint from a resident of Tamil Nadu’s Vellore saying that he was cheated of ₹25 lakh by a man who claimed to be one Raphael Hougbendji from Ghana, working in the public relations department at Animal Welfare Zoological Ltd.
“The accused targeted victims on LinkedIn, especially those who wanted to become entrepreneurs. He told the victim that there was a huge demand of herbal vaccination products [Folinic B12 Oil] for race horses in Ghana and that the same oil is produced and sold in Assam at cheaper rates,” the officer said and added that the accused also told the victim about a company named Mahavir Herbals which sells the product in Assam.
Pedro told the victim that the oil was sold at ₹25 lakh per litre in India and it will be bought for ₹45 lakh in Ghana. “To earn his trust, the accused also facilitated a sample transaction in Delhi. Posing as the owner of the Assam company, he sent 5 ml of oil for ₹25,000 by courier and bought it for ₹86,000 as Ghana client. The victim then bought the product for ₹25 lakh to be exported to Ghana,” Mr. Roy said. Soon after the transaction, the accused snapped ties with the victim.
A police team led by ACP Aditya Gautam traced the accused to Greater Noida. During interrogation, he told the police that he learned the trick to cheat people from his friends in Macau. “It was also revealed that he had duped many, including another person of ₹1.25 crore,” Mr. Roy said.