Nigerian arrested from Delhi on ‘sextortion’ charges

Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police has arrested a Nigerian from New Delhi on the charges of extorting money from a woman from Cuttack by using her obscene images and videos, Cuttack DCP Khilari Rishikesh Dnyandeo said on Sunday.

He said that on February 26, the Cuttack Police received a report that the victim in the Daragha Bazar police station area of the city had committed suicide. “The victim had left a suicide note in which she mentioned some international and local WhatsApp numbers. In the suicide note, the victim had informed that some people were blackmailing her by cunningly obtaining her obscene photos. She was undergoing psychological trauma and ended her life due to the social stigma,” he said.

The DCP said the Cyber Cell of Cuttack Police later carried out a detailed technical analysis and managed to get login details of the WhatsApp numbers used by the accused from the WhatsApp company authorities. “The cops, by further analysis, ascertained the mobile number from which the internet was accessed,” he said.

The DCP said the Cuttack Police also traced the movement of the accused in Uttam Nagar and Palam areas in Delhi. “A team of Cuttack Police with the help of Delhi Police arrested the accused on March 21. The accused was identified as Djedje Raymond alias Chijioke John Okoye (31). He was currently staying in Palam area of New Delhi,” he said.

The DCP also revealed that immigration authorities will be contacted to ascertain the identity of the accused who also possesses a passport of Ivory Coast. “The accused told investigating officials that he has been staying in Delhi since 2020. The accused first surveyed the online Facebook accounts of professionals like doctors, engineers, etc and later created fake profiles impersonating those professionals. He would send friend requests to the victims, especially women, impersonating the high-profile professionals. The police have so far found around 3,000 screenshots of such fake profiles,” he added.

The DCP further informed that after developing friendship, the accused used to lure the victim into sharing their mobile and WhatsApp numbers. “The accused also managed to collect private photographs and videos of the victims by sharing fake photos and videos of him. Then, he used those private photographs and videos of the victims to extort money from them by threatening to make those obscene photos and videos of victims viral,” he added.

The DCP said that the woman in Cuttack had also received a friend request from one of these fake profiles created by the accused a few months ago. “The accused subsequently managed to obtain some of her intimate photos and started blackmailing her forcing the gullible victim to end her life,” he said. He further added that the police also came to know that the accused duped several other victims across India and outside through similar means. He said the cops found a victim from outside the country who gave the accused 5,000 New Zealand dollars as well.