Patrick Ngomere, a Nigerian national, was detained by the Delhi Police Cyber Cell in India for allegedly breaking into the email account of the pharmaceutical company Family Care Pvt. Limited and stealing Rs 11.73 lakh.
The suspect is thought to be a member of a wider conspiracy that conducts several cyber scams throughout India. They are also accused of living in the country without a valid visa.
The Indian online news outlet Millennium Post informed PUNCH Metro on Sunday that the suspect had admitted to the crime, citing a report released by the nation’s National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal on Friday.
The Rs11.73 lakh (Rs1,173,000) that the suspect stole from the pharmaceutical company is worth $13,361 when converted using the currency conversion website XE.com.
Ngomere, a Greater Noida resident, was caught in a police trap near an ATM after his mobile phone was found to be linked to the fraudulent bank account.
The report states that the scam allegedly began on December 10 when the pharmaceutical company received an email impersonating its vendor, Accent Pharma, requesting payment to a new bank account.
Unaware of the fraudulent email, the pharmaceutical company allegedly transferred Rs 11.76 lakh, PUNCH Metro learnt.
Our correspondent gathered that the firm discovered the email had been hacked only after making the payment and conducting verification. This prompted a thorough investigation by the country’s cyber fraud unit.
The report read, “Investigators traced the hacked email to Nigeria and tracked the money to a Manipur bank account. Surveillance footage led to Ngomere’s arrest.
“He was found without a valid Indian visa and is suspected to be part of a larger syndicate. An FIR has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Foreigners Act. Investigations continue.”
In January 2025, PUNCH Metro reported that the Kuwait General Department of Criminal Investigation in Ahmadi Governorate had arrested two Nigerian nationals for armed robbery.
The suspects were arrested within 24 hours after robbing an exchange office in Mahboula, a district in southern Kuwait City.
They allegedly stole foreign currencies totalling 4,600 Kuwaiti Dinars, equivalent to approximately $14,918.69 based on the currencyconvertonline.com exchange rate.
