Online conman’s victims include a judge

Shaba Abdul Razak, the Nigerian nabbed at the Bangalore airport last week, reportedly cheated a judge of Rs 6 lakh

Online conman's victims include a judge

Shaba Abdul Razak, the Nigerian nabbed at the Bangalore airport last week, reportedly cheated a judge of Rs 6 lakh

A judge from Hubli is reportedly among those cheated by Shaba Abdul Razak (34), the Nigerian nabbed at the Bangalore airport last week.

Inspector-general of police (Kannur) Tomin Thachankary said Razak has managed to swindle the judge of Rs 6 lakh since last year, promising a big fortune in return.

A police team checking Razak's laptop stumbled on some phone numbers of victims spread across India. They were startled to find that one of the numbers led to a judge in Hubli in north Karnataka.

Thachankary said the judge had not filed a complaint. He refused to divulge the name of the judge, saying the case was being investigated.

Razak has also cheated many businessmen, but they are afraid to complain.

World racket

According to Thachankary, Razak is part of an international syndicate based in Lagos (Nigeria). It is believed to have about 700 members.

Once they get the money, they electronically transfer it to a bank account in Lagos. "This makes it hard for us to recover the money," Thachankary told MiD DAY.

However, his team did manage to recover Rs 25,000 which Razak had kept in the account of his Manipuri girlfriend.

Razak claimed he came to India in 2007 as a cloth merchant, but there is no document to prove it.

"He neither has a passport nor a visau2026 he later confessed he also used to peddle heroine. We are investigating his links with other cities in India," Thachankary said.

Computer savvy

Razak is a hacker and allegedly uses many email IDs. He talks well and has many girlfriends in India, he said.

Police suspect Razak used his girlfriends' accounts to mislead sleuths.

They have also detained a Manipuri girl who allegedly helped him receive lakhs of rupees. Razak used to shuttle from one metro to another hunting for his prey.

He used to stay at expensive hotels and move in swiftly after laying a trap, the police said.

Razak was trapped on the basis of a complaint filed by an NRI based in Qatar.

Undercover work

A team of police led by Thachankary approached him posing as customers.

After exchanging emails, Razak agreed to meet them. Initially the police asked him to come to Kannur, but he agreed to deliver the money only at the Bangalore airport.

After clinching the deal, the Kannur police sought the help of the Bangalore airport police. Razak was caught red handed by Thanchankary and his team on Thursday evening.

Razak does not know how many he has cheated but he may have made about Rs 3 crore, police said.

Razak's method
>>Razak used to send random emails claiming to be from the Bank of Africa.
>>"You have been chosen to inherit a fortune of 15 million dollars," he would say in the mail.
>>The email would then invite the potential victim to go to Africa to collect the cash.
>>Predictably, email receivers would express their inability to go to Africa.
>>Razak would then give them the option of hiring a financial attorney.
>>Razak would enter the scene officially, claiming to be the financial attorney appointed by the Bank of Africa.
>>He would demand a fee to complete the transaction. The moment the fee was paid, he would transfer it to Lagos.
>>Victims were usually afraid to complain to the police.