Money trail leads to Nigeria through

AHMEDABAD: Investigation into a Nigerian scam has led local cops to a shocking discovery — foreign nationals can get Aadhaar card, a unique identification provided only to Indian citizens. Ahmedabad cyber cell found that Jackson Amokholi, a Nigerian national arrested along with six other accused in a case of cheating, has an Aadhaar card in his name, complete with his picture, Mumbai address and cell phone number which matches with the government records! Cyber cell sleuths said that as only Indian nationals are eligbile for obtaining an Aadhaar card, the probe is now focused on unravelling how Amokholi managed to get himself the unique identity proof.These shocking details emerged during the probe of a recently busted cheating case wherein two city-based traders were conned of Rs 30 lakh. The traders were made to buy raw material to be used in a cancer research project run by a UK pharma company which was later siphoned off by courier men who were involved with Nigerians.“A Nigerian national illegally staying in India and getting an Aadhaar card has us worried. More so as Amokholi and his two associates namely Sheron Nashaba, 22, of Uganda and Lawrence Wood, 40, of Nigeria, were found in possession of fake passports with fake visas stamped on them,” a police official said.DCP cyber cell, Rajdeepsinh Jhala , said the details of Jackson Amokholi matched with the government record books. “The Aadhaar card also bears his photo, Mumbai address and phone number. This only reveals how deep the Nigerian gangs have penetrated the local networks to create fake identities. We have got some important leads and are working with cyber cell of Mumbai police to crack the network,” he said.Last Sunday, the cyber cell had nabbed six persons including two from Nigeria, one from Uganda and three from India, Geetanjali Dhakoliya, 24, Sagar Gupta, 26, and Kinjal Gada, 34, all residents of Mumbai.DCP Jhala added that Amokholi, Wood and Nashaba had been staying in India illegally for the past eight to nine years and are suspected to be involved in several such crimes. “Nashaba had a fake visa on her fake passport identifying her as a student of a private university near Vadodara in Gujarat . However, on verification, no record of her being enrolled in the university was found. Similarly, Lawrence Wood was also found in possession of a fake passport and fake visa,” said DCP Jhala.Nigerian’s money processor had seven bank accounts in one name, in three cities across the country...!Cyber cell officials said another surprising detail which emerged during the probe was that the Nigerian gang members used make their victims deposit money in bank accounts managed by one Ravindra Yadav of Mumbai. “We have arrested Yadav also,” said a cyber cell official. He has confessed that he used to manage 20 bank accounts on fake addresses to process the money for different gangs led by Nigerians. In this case, seven different bank accounts of the same name were used in three different cities, Jaipur, Bangaluru and Mumbai. How can a person have permanent residential address in three different cities? We are digging deep to break the network,” said a cyber cell official.DCP Rajdeepsinh Jhala said Lawrence Wood used to contact Ravindra Yadav whenever a victim was trapped. “Yadav would give him an account number which would be forwarded to the victim. After the money was deposited by the victim in the bank account, Yadav would withdraw it immediately and after deducting his 10% commission he used to give it to Lawrence,” added Jhala. The gang then transferred the money to Nigeria through an illegal hawala channel run by some Indian nationals. “We have come to know that during past one year Lawrence has transferred more than Rs 1.5 crore to Nigeria through hawala channels,” said a cyber cell official.