Nigerian Ex-Footballer & Wife Arrested For Fraud

Ex-Nigerian footballer, Ifeanyi Joachin Nwafor and his Indian wife were arrested on Monday for allegedly cheating a number of people on the pretext of getting their goods cleared from the customs department.

Police said the couple has so far conned people to the tune of Rs 6.5 lakh.
Police said Joe is a native of Lagos in Nigeria while his wife hailed from Assam. Investigators claimed that Joe has so far told them that between 2010 and 2014 he played football for three state-level teams there.

According to the police, the forgery came to light when a woman alleged that some months ago, a UK-based man, George Moor, became friends with her on Facebook.

“The complainant said, Moor requested her to accept a few gifts from him, which he wanted to be distributed among the poor. After few days, in July this year, she received a call from a lady, who stated that she was calling from the Mumbai customs and that her office had received a parcel from the UK for clearance for which she has to pay Rs 26,000,” said DCP (Dwarka) Anto Alphonse.

The complainant said that the woman again called her and told that custom officers had scanned the parcel and found it to be containing valuables.

“She was told that she has to pay Income Tax. Again, the complainant deposited Rs 95,600 in the bank account. Later, when she was again asked to pay some more money, she found it suspicious and reported the matter,” the DCP said.

During investigation, a police team traced calls made and numbers used by the suspects, which revealed that the caller had visited Assam last year.

“Probe revealed that the caller had withdrawn the money deposited by the complainant on the same day it was deposited. Details of ATMs were obtained and technical surveillance and CCTV cameras installed in the area were checked,” the DCP said.

They are still under investigation.