The Matunga Police have arrested a wanted Nigerian national involved in duping a businesswoman through an online email spoofing scam under the pretext of offering high profits from chemical exports to foreign countries. The accused has been identified as Adolphus Uche Onuma. Following his arrest, the court has remanded him to six days of police custody.
The complainant, a chemical trader residing with her family in the Matunga area, had received an unsolicited email from an unknown sender on January 26. The sender lured her with a proposal promising substantial profits from selling chemicals in the UK market. To gain her trust, the fraudster shared fabricated business details, convincing her of the legitimacy of the deal.
Attracted by the offer, the woman agreed to collaborate and placed an order for one litre of sample chemicals through a company named Ram Traders, allegedly based in Arunachal Pradesh. As instructed, she transferred ₹3 lakh to the bank account provided by the fraudster. Despite assurances that the chemical parcel would arrive within two days, she never received the consignment.
Suspecting foul play, the woman tried to contact both the UK-based and Indian companies, only to discover that both were fictitious. Realizing she had been cheated, she approached the Matunga Police and lodged a formal complaint.
Acting on her complaint, police registered a case under relevant sections of fraud and the Information Technology Act. Under the guidance of Additional Commissioner of Police Anil Parasakar, Deputy Commissioner of Police Ragasudha R., Assistant Police Inspector Yogesh Gawde, Senior Inspector Rajendra Pawar, and Inspector Sarjerao Patil, along with Cyber Cell officers Praveenkumar Patil, Santosh Pawar, and Govind Shirgire, launched an investigation.
Based on technical evidence, the police traced the accused to Navi Mumbai’s Kharghar area and took him into custody. During interrogation, Onuma admitted to his involvement in the crime. Further investigation revealed that the accused and his gang were involved in similar fraud cases not only in Mumbai but also in Andhra Pradesh’s Mudinepalli and Gujarat’s Changodar regions.
The accused was produced before the court, which granted police custody for six days. The investigation has also revealed the involvement of other associates in this scam. Police have now launched a special operation to trace and arrest the remaining members of the gang.