Nigerian Man Arrested In Internet Lottery Scam

This story was published more than 12 years ago.

Law enforcement authorities in Bangalore, India have announced that they have arrested a Nigerian man along with two other local men for their roles in an internet lottery scam.

Nigerian born Paul Osagi, 41, was brought down last week after he and his associates conned an Indian Man into sending money into bank accounts. The victim, 21 year old engineering student Dinesh Kumar was told that he had won a prize while playing a "Yahoo-MSN" lottery. He then sent money to Osagi, who was pretending to be a British diplomat claiming that the money was needed to ensure that the prize could be paid in India.

After getting the initial set of funds, Osagi decided to try an milk Kumar of more funds. He called the victim through a local mobile phone, demanding more money be placed in the bank account for "airport charges".

Suspecting that something was amiss, Kumar reported the matter to the local police, who viewed CCTV footage of the suspect taking funds from an ATM. Osagi was then arrested.

Commenting on the arrest, Deputy Commissioner of Police M. Sudhakar said “This is yet another case where bank accounts and SIM cards activated with bogus documents become effective tools in the hands of culprits. Video footage at an ATM centre in Bangalore showed two persons drawing the money."

“Following specific clues, the team arrested Osagie and his associates Mohamed Afzal (29) and Rajesh Viswanath Kedia (49). Rs. 94,000 was recovered."