Kannur (Kerala), Aug 8 (IANS) Nigerian national Shaba Abdul Rasheed, believed to be the kingpin of a gang cheating people by promising them large amounts of money and asking the victims to deposit some money in a particular account to arrange the transfer, has been arrested, an official said Saturday.
Kerala police’s cyber wing chief Tomin J. Thachenkery told IANS that Rasheed was taken into custody in Bangalore and brought here.

He said Raheed revealed his gang comprised Nigerians who tried to lure Internet users with fraudulent e-mails promising a large sum of money, while there were some women from the northeastern states who acted as their Indian partners. Those who fell into the gang’s trap were asked to deposit money in an account operated by a gang member.

Rasheed was arrested on a complaint by someone who had been cheated of Rs.4 million. Thachenkery said they had found out that a dozen people had fallen into the gang’s trap and lost close to Rs.40 million.

One of those cheated included a judge, he said.

“We did contact the judge but he denied losing money. However, after detailed cyber investigations, it has come to light that the judge had a lengthy discussion with the Nigerian gang. We have now found out that this Nigerian gang was operating in a few south Indian states,” Thachenkery added.