- Unique Modus Operandi of approaching unsuspecting persons on Linkedin to lend a degree of authenticity to the scam
- An elaborate story was weaved to trap the victim on the pretext of purchase of Folinic B12 Oil for a company in Ghana
- Accused, Gilbert Okoye Pedro, a Nigerian national, pretended to be a mediator in the fictional sale and purchase of the product between the Indian victim and the Ghanian company
- The said scam is said to have originated in Macau almost a decade ago
INTRODUCTION
In a major breakthrough, a team of Cyber Crime Unit, Delhi has arrested the mastermind of a major scam that is believed to have affected dozens of people all over the country, on the pretext of sale and purchase of Folinic B12 Oil. The accused person has been identified as under: – Gilbert Okoye Pedro @ Ifeanyi Aged 39 years (Permanent resident of Nigeria)
CASE HISTORY
A complaint was received at Cyber Crime Unit, Delhi in which the complainant, a resident of Vellore, Tamilnadu, had alleged that he received a LinkedIn connection request from a man who claimed to be one Raphael Hougbendji from Ghana, working as a PRO at Animal Welfare Zoological Ltd. in Ghana. He proposed a lucrative business to the complainant, of exporting herbal vaccination products (Folinic B12 Oil) from India to Ghana. He told the complainant that Folinic B12 Oil is required for producing vaccination for race horses for their clients and the same oil is produced in India by a company namely Mahavir Herbal Pvt. Ltd., National Highway 37, Gotanagar, Guwahati, Assam. He further told the complainant that this oil was available in India at a very low price and that he would buy the same oil from the complainant at a high price, thus leading to a lot of profit. He asked the complainant to contact the Indian company viz. Mahavir Herbals as a customer and buy the said oil from them. Thereafter, the complainant started contacting both buyer (Animal Welfare Zoological Ltd.) and seller (Mahavir Herbals) through emails and phone calls. The buyer agreed to buy one litre of the said oil from the complainant at Rs. 45,00,000/- and the seller agreed to sell the same to the complainant at Rs. 25,00,000/- for each litre of oil. Both buyer and seller earned the complete belief & trust of the complainant by their professional talks and emails. In a first of its kind, the accused used to meet the victims in person to win their trust and thus inducing them to part with a larger sum of money. Initially, the complainant agreed to buy a sample quantity of oil for testing. Accordingly, he purchased 5 ml oil from Mahavir Herbals, which later turned out to be nothing but honey, sent to the complainant by courier from Delhi itself. The same was given to the accused at a coffee shop in Connaught Place, Delhi, in person. The accused pretended to be convinced of the authenticity of the said product and paid Rs. 86,000/- to the complainant for the sample oil, to earn the complete belief & trust of the complainant. Further, they (buyer) demanded one litre oil from the complainant. Accordingly, the complainant purchased one litreof the said oil from Mahavir Herbals and paid about 25,00,000/- for the same. After receipt of money, the buyer started avoiding the complainant and asked for more money from the complainant on different pretexts. Then, the complainant got suspicious and opened the package of the so-called Folinic B12 Oil and found that it was just honey. He lodged a complaint after realising that he was duped of his hard earned money. On his complaint, a case was registered at PS Special cell and investigation was taken up by Cyber Crime Unit (CyPAD).
TEAM &INVESTIGATION
On receiving the complaint, a dedicated team under the close supervision of ACP Aditya Gautam comprising of SI Vijender, SI Avdhesh, SI Parbhat, ASI Harjeet, ASI Ved Pal, HC Jitender, HC Ram Kumar, Ct Prannoy, Ct Ashish and Ct Amit was constituted to apprehend the active fraudsters.Extensive technical investigation was carried out by the team, especially by ASI Harjeet.
The accused was changing his location and mobile numbers very frequently which was making it extremely difficult to establish his identity and identify his location. Moreover, the accused made sure to not be in touch with a lot of people, thus minimizing the risk of being located. All possible leads were examined and finally, after working diligently for weeks, the location of the accused was identified in Greater Noida. The team conducted a raid at the concerned place where the accused Gilbert Okoye Pedro @ Ifeanyi Aged 39 years (Permanent resident of Nigeria) was apprehended in the case. Five mobile phones, one laptop and one passport were recovered from his possession. Accordingly, the accused was arrested as per law and devices i.e. mobile phones, laptop and passport were seized in the case.
INTERROGATION, DISCLOSURE & MODUS OPERANDI
During investigation, the accused Gilbert Okoye Pedro @ Ifeanyi Aged 39 yearsdisclosed that he came to India in 2010 on business visa and never went back to Nigera. Initially, he started some clothing business in India but could not pursue the same due to financial crisis. He knows computer &internet skills and started to cheat unsuspecting people via various social media. He got the script to fool the people from his friends/associates who are the masterminds of this scam in other parts of the world, starting from Macau. As such, the accused is believed to be the architect of the said scam in India and has gradually trained several others in the tricks of the trade. Along with his associates, he used to make two fake company websites for selling and buying the so called Folinic B12 Oil i.e. Mahavir Herbals Pvt. Ltd. And Animal Welfare Zoological Ltd. Ghana respectively. He used to contact people as a representative/PRO of Zoological Ltd. Ghana for lucrative export business from India to Ghana and then acted as a mediator between these two companies. In a never before seen strategy, he used to meet the victims personally for collecting the sample quantity of the so called Folinic oil and paid money for the sample quantity. This ensured that he won their trust unconditionally.
During interrogation, the accused revealed that he has duped several others on the pretext of exporting the so called Folinic B12 oil from India to Ghana, using the same modus operandi. One victim, a resident of Tamil Nadu, was cheated of more than Rs. 1.25 Croresusing the same Modus Operandi. He has given his complaint in this regard and a fresh case has been registered in the matter. The accused has also disclosed that he has not gone back to Nigeria in the last 9 years or more as his Visa expired. The Visa on his passport is a fake one, obtained from one of his contacts in Nigeria. The said fake visa was then printed and pasted on his passport to enable him to rent an accommodation with ease.
MONEY TRAIL
The money deposited in various accounts by the victims was transferred to different bank accounts by the accused person and finally withdrawn from ATMs in Mumbai and Bengaluru. The cash was then used in connivance with his associates to buy different goods, including clothes, shoes, and even human hair (which apparently has a huge market in Nigeria, for hair extension and wig manufacturing). These goods were shipped to Nigeria and sold there at profit. Human hair worth Rs. 3,000 is sold for as much as 200 USD or around Rs. 14,000 in Nigeria.
Investigation of the case is in progress. More victims of the accused persons are being identified. Other members of the syndicate are being traced.
ANYESH ROY
Deputy Commissioner Of Police
Cyber Crime Unit (Cy PAD), Delhi
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