This story is from September 13, 2019

Hyderabad: Three Nigerians sneak in using Ivory Coast passports, held

Hyderabad: Three Nigerians sneak in using Ivory Coast passports, held
Representative image
HYDERABAD: During the crackdown against international cybercrooks, police stumbled upon a crucial information as to how Nigerians are entering India using Ivory Coast passports and then either discarding the documents or hiding them to prevent the authorities from identifying them and deporting them.
Two days ago, cybercrime sleuths of Cyberabad, who were tracking the crooks resorting to international gift parcel and lottery frauds, found out that some suspects had come down to Hyderabad from Delhi.
In a joint operation, the cybercrime sleuths along with law and order cops conducted surprise checks at Gowlidoddi, Sriramnagar and Nanakramguda in IT zone where some foreigners were suspected to be residing illegally in the city.
At Sriramnagar A-block near SBI, the sleuths found Brou Julien alias Okezie Chukwudi Ruben, 30, without a visa and passport. During interrogation, Julien confessed that he came to India on an Ivory Coast passport on June 4, 2018, with a tourist visa valid till November 2018. “Julien confessed his original name was Okezie Chukwudi Ruben and that he is a native of Utako, Abuja, in Nigeria. He told us that to enter India, he obtained the Ivory Coast passport with a fake name and after reaching India, thrown away the same to avoid arrest,” Gachibowli SI B Govardhan Reddy said.
Based on the information given by Julien, cops conducted a search at a flat in Golf View Apartments in Nanakramguda and caught Sita Toure, 28. Toure confessed that she is a native of Abuja and came to India on an Ivory Coast passport on October 1, 2017, with a tourist visa valid till January 2018. She has been staying illegally in Delhi, the SI said.
According to the cybercrime police, the accused are suspected to be involved in online frauds. “It has been observed that to get an Indian visa easily, fraudsters from African countries, including Nigeria, are obtaining passports of Ivory Coast,” said a cybercrime official.
Subsequently, police raided Padmashree Garden Society in Gowlidoddi and found Umeokoli Oluchukwu David, 27, a native of Rumudara Road, River State, Nigeria, without a passport and visa. During the interrogation, David said he came to India in January 2014 on a three-month medical visa from Nigeria. After the visa expired, David discarded his passport while staying in Delhi. Since then, he has been staying illegally, police said.
The trio was booked under section 14 of the Foreigners Act. They were produced before the court on Wednesday and remanded in judicial custody.
Police found Nigerians were entering India using Ivory Coast passports and then either discarding the documents or hiding them to prevent the authorities from identifying them.
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