New Delhi, Mar 17 (PTI) Two Nigerian nationals were among six men arrested for allegedly befriending women through matrimonial sites and social media platforms and duping them of money, police said on Thursday.

The accused have been identified as Bablu Singh Yadav (23), a resident of Mandi in Delhi; Kasim Khan (23) and Afzal Khan (29), both residents of Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh; Vikas Bansal (27), a resident of Sangam Vihar; and Musa (37) and Ifeanyi Valentine (33), both residents of Nigeria, they said.

Also Read | Sanjay Raut on The Kashmir Files' Tax-Free Plea: Film on Balasaheb Thackeray Was Not Made Tax Free, Yet People Came to Watch It.

A woman doctor filed a complaint alleging that she came in contact with one Ankush through a matrimonial site. He introduced himself as a doctor from the United Kingdom and showed interest to marry her, the police said.

After some days, he called her and said that he was coming to India on February 22 this year and had booked a flight ticket for Mumbai as a direct flight for Delhi was not available, they said.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Shocker: 16-Year-Old Girl Sedated, Raped in Agra.

On February 23, the woman received a call from one Menakshi. She introduced herself as a staff from the customs department at the Mumbai airport and said that they had apprehended Ankus with illegal 15,000 pounds, the police said.

She demanded Rs 1,76,500 as processing fee to release the person and the money. The complainant then transferred the money. She became suspicious when the woman further demanded money and filed a complaint, the police said.

During investigation, police found that the account in which the complainant had transferred the money was registered in the name of Yadav. On March 5, he was arrested, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Shweta Chauhan said.

On his instance, Kasim and Afzal were also arrested. Afzal disclosed that he was in contact with many African nationals who are involved in online cheating. He used to provide bank details to them on commission basis, police said.

On Afzal's instance, Musa and Valentine were also nabbed, they said.

Police found that Musa, along with his associates, has cheated many people using the same modus operandi. Musa disclosed that he had come to India in March 2019 on medical visa for six months but did not return to his country, they said.

Bank accounts transactions showed that large amount was credited in these accounts, which were deposited by various persons, the police said.

Valentine came in contact with various people of his country residing in India and started cheating people online on the pretext of sending gift and lottery, etc. The accused persons have cheated more than 500 people of crores of rupees, they added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)