Two Nigerian nationals arrested in Pune for hacking ATM machines

The Pune city police has arrested two Nigerian nationals for allegedly hacking ATM machines and withdrawing money.

The police identified the accused as David Charles Alies Ugochukwu Charles Nwacghukwu (30) and Kehinde Sadiq Idris (29), both currently residing in Undri and natives of Nigeria.

As per a press release issued by the Pune city police, an offence was lodged at the Shivajinagar police station against two persons who were hacking ATM machines at certain spots in the city.

It was learnt that the accused persons were connecting some external device to the network cable of the ATM machine. Then, after the ATM machine was hacked, they inserted an ATM card and gave input for withdrawing Rs 1,000.

But as per the input, instead of Rs 1,000, as many as 40 currency notes of Rs 500 denomination came out of the ATM machines. On knowing about this, bank officials lodged a complaint with the Pune city police.

A cyber police station team led by senior police inspector D S Hake initiated investigation into the case. Cops got clues from the videos captured by CCTV cameras. During the probe, cops identified one of the accused, David, on May 25. His interrogation revealed the involvement of his aide Idris.

A court remanded the two accused to police custody till May 30 for further investigation. “Both accused were found to be staying in Pune for the past few months. They do not have proper visa documents and are suspected to be overstaying in the city. Further investigation is on,” said inspector Hake.

During searches, police seized seven cell phones, three laptops, one modem and two passports from David, while three cell phones and a laptop was recovered from Idris. The police has also seized a two wheeler from their possession.