All Abhishek Kumar (34) a researcher at AIIMS, Delhi was allegedly seeking was companionship. So, he created an account on a dating app in 2024. Soon after, he secured a match as well, said police.
The woman he matched with was a foreigner. Borders no bar, the duo began talking in October 2024. Sparks flew, numbers were exchanged, and within a month, the researcher and the woman were talking regularly.
In December 2024, the woman allegedly told Abhishek that she was working with a beauty products company and had a lucrative business proposition to get into oil, the police said. He was not aware that this was the beginning of an elaborate cyber fraud that he would fall prey to.
Oblivious to the scam playing out in front of him, Abhishek agreed, and paid Rs 1.90 lakh in multiple installments till January. Then, he was ‘ghosted’.
The Delhi Police has arrested the accused, identified as Micheal Iga (38) an Ugandan national on Monday from Burari. Iga was running a cyber fraud syndicate by posing as women on dating apps in the national capital. He was also residing illegally in North Delhi, police said.
“Iga lured Abhishek with a fraudulent business opportunity to buy a rare oil from Assam for Rs 2 lakh per litre and sell it for Rs 3.5 lakh, promising instant high returns,” a police officer said.
Abhishek registered a complaint in February with Delhi Police (South), and it was eventually transferred to Cyber Station, (South West) in September. The hunt to nab the accused began.
“We found an e-mail ID attached to the number Iga was using, and tracked it. Then, we found devices in which it was opened, and tracked it to Mehrauli,” a police officer said.
In October, officers raided the building in Mehrauli, but the accused was not found. Another round of raids were conducted in over 200 apartments across the Delhi- NCR. The probe soon zeroed in on Iga.
As the investigation progressed, the modus-operandi became clear to the police: creating fake profiles of women on dating apps using his girlfriend’s photo, luring victims to invest in a fraudulent rare oil business scheme, and then honey-trapping them.
Police claimed he is linked to 14 cyber-fraud cases on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal, with cumulative fraudulent transactions running into several crores across multiple states.
“The accused created multiple fake identities of women to befriend victims online, emotionally manipulate them, and cheat them through fabricated high-return investment stories. He used photographs of his girlfriend to create fake profiles on dating and social media platforms,” DCP (Southwest) Amit Goel said.
During questioning, he told police that he was the one who created the fake profile and trapped the victim in the fraudulent scheme.
A special team led by Inspector Pravesh Kaushik, police said, recovered cash worth Rs 22,500, four mobile phones, a laptop, and six debit cards used for receiving and rotating defrauded funds from Iga’s possession.
“The accused frequently changed locations to evade arrest. Multiple raids were carried out in Gurgaon, Mehrauli, Burari, and adjoining areas before he was finally apprehended through sustained technical surveillance,” DCP Goel said.
Intimation regarding the foreign national was sent to the Uganda Embassy and Foreigners Regional Registration Office, DCP Goel added. “Iga admitted to creating fake identities of women and trapping victims after building trust,” he added.
