Nigerian arrested for internet scam

Mumbai: A Nigerian national was arrested by the Sahar police for conning internet users in India by falsely promising them 9 lakh British pounds.
   The accused, Blesseo Osas alias Mark Harry, and his accomplices contacted the complainants on their webpage first, and through the cellphone later. They would demand large sums of money as security and anti-terrorism clearance fees. Sangli resident Shrikant Mahajan was duped of around Rs 10.44 lakh by the gang.
   The police who are looking for Harry’s associate, Peterson Edward, suspect that several other players are involved in the racket. The police have appealed to all those people, who could have been cheated in a similar manner, to come forward and lodge complaints.
   Mahajan and his son Sandesh were randomly surfing the internet when they came across a notification, which declared that the “Microsoft Team’’ would present them an award of 9 lakh British pounds. The father-son duo was directed to a webpage run by Edward and Harry.
   The accused obtained Mahajan’s phone number and started calling him up regularly. They convinced him to shell out various amounts as security and anti-terrorism clearance, non-residence certificate clearance and custom clearance. The total money Mahajan paid amounted to Rs 10.44 lakh. This sum was deposited in different bank accounts, whose savings account numbers were provided by the accused.
   On March 6, Edward and Harry asked Mahajan to come to the domestic airport. When Mahajan arrived there, he was called to the international airport at Sahar, below the bridge. He was then asked to shell out an additional Rs 1.2 lakh for security clearances. Mahajan, who only had Rs 50,000 on him, said he would return the next day with the balance.
   The next day, Mahajan returned to the airport with the money but the accused two did not turn up. Sensing that he had been cheated, Mahajan later lodged a complaint with the Sahar police.
   “We laid a trap and managed to trace one of the accused (Harry). He will be interrogated for information about his accomplices,’’ said senior inspector Dilip Patil.
   The police also seized wads of paper, resembling currency notes, and a chemical bottle from Harry’s belongings