by Adeola Balogun

2 Nigerian men have been arrested by police in India on suspicion of fraud.

Patrick Okwuokenye and Festus Iteh were apprehended after it was alleged that they duped three persons of a total sum of N12.43 million (about Rs 49 lakh.

The suspects claimed to be running a lottery and thus succeeded in dispossessing their victims of  their hard earned money by charging a “processing fee”

The Telegraph reports:

Hyderabad Police Commissioner, Anurag Sharma, on Tuesday, said that the Nigerians, were arrested in Delhi last week.

Sharma said a complaint by one Mahender Patel to the police on October 28 led to their arrest.

Patel had complained that a woman called Asha Kiran told him and two others that she was going to receive USD 20 million as lottery prize and would give them 2.5 per cent of the amount if they paid her the N12.43 million which she had to deposit as processing fee for the prize money.

Asha Kiran had received an e-mail stating that she had won a lottery of USD 20 million.

“After she responded to the e-mail, the accused asked her to deposit some money as ‘processing fee’. She told Patel about this, who along with two others paid her Rs 49 lakh. Out of this, she transferred Rs 15.5 lakh to various accounts set up by the accused,” said Sharma.

A person called Michael, also a Nigerian, who is believed to be the ringleader, is yet to traced, he added.