Three Nigerian nationals have been sentenced to five years in an Indian prison each for defrauding a female teacher of over Rs 6.3 lakh through an online scam involving a fake international parcel delivery

Three members of a Nigerian cyberfraud syndicate have each been sentenced to five years in an Indian prison after a court found them guilty of defrauding a female teacher through an elaborate online scam.

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The convicts, identified as Nelson Chigaogejimu, Francis Emeka, and Udala Chukwudi, scammed the victim, an Indian school teacher, out of approximately Rs 6.3 lakh (roughly £6,000).

According to a report by The Times of India, the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Richa Verma, handed down the sentence on Saturday, May 31, 2025. In addition to the prison term, each convict was fined Rs 75,000, with an extra 15 days of imprisonment if the fine was not paid.

The case was filed by Ruchi Singh, a resident of Aashanagar and a teacher with the Basic Education department. Prosecuting officer, Anil Kumar, confirmed the court’s verdict to The Times of India on Monday, June 2, 2025.

The report detailed the mechanics of the scam: “On May 30, 2020, she lodged an FIR, claiming she had received a message on May 12, 2020, from an international number claiming to be from London.” The sender introduced himself as ‘Deepak Lee’ and also provided an email ID.

“Shortly after, the accused called her and claimed to have found her contact through a matrimonial site. They began chatting over WhatsApp, and he told her that he had sent a parcel,” the report added.

A tracking link and number were provided to the victim, initially showing the parcel at a UK airport before it purportedly appeared in Delhi, with a fabricated claim that it was being held due to unpaid customs fees.

“A woman later called Singh, posing as a customs officer, and convinced her to transfer Rs 6,31,548 into multiple bank accounts, claiming it was for customs clearance,” the report stated.

When the parcel never arrived, Singh filed a complaint at the Kotwali police station, following the directive of the Superintendent of Police.

The Nigerian trio, Chigaogejimu, Emeka, and Udala Chukwudi, were subsequently identified as the perpetrators. The trio were charged in court by the police under sections related to “cheating, forgery, the Information Technology Act, and the Foreigners Act of 1960.”

The city’s Superintendent of Police, Neeraj Jadaun, confirmed their apprehension, stating, “They were arrested in Delhi on October 17, 2020, and have remained in custody since then.”

The court ultimately found the trio guilty of forging documents and using them to defraud the victim under the pretext of an international parcel delivery.