12 foreigners sent to jail in Facebook fraud case

Prothom Alo illustration

A Dhaka court has sent 13 people, including 12 foreign citizens, to jail in a case lodged over realising money from innocent people through forgery on social networking site Facebook, reports news agency BSS.

The court of Dhaka metropolitan magistrate Moinul Islam passed the order on Wednesday evening as police produced them before the court seeking an order to keep them behind the bars.

The accused are Nandika Clinent, Clentas Asuna, Oiokulov Timothy, Ekin Wisdom, Chigoji, Evunde Gabrilobina, Salastine Patrick, Mardi Namdi, Ordu Chukordu, Somaina, Jeyerem Presiyam, Oko Wisdom and their Bangladeshi associate Rahat Ara Khanam alias Farzana.

Earlier, CID arrested the fraudsters from the capital’s Pallabi area.

According to police, the accused make friendship with innocent people on Facebook and at one stage send gifts to them. Their local cronies like Farzana call the victim posing customs officials and ask them to pay customs duty and release their “valuable gift item”.

To get the valuable gift or coming under the pressure of fake customs officials, victims pay huge sums as customs duty through bank accounts and get nothing in return.

One such victim has lost Tk 373,000 and filed the case against them.

According to the CID, this particular gang of African nationals, has looted around 40-50 million taka so far. They have no valid documents to stay in Bangladesh as well.

CID filed another case under immigration act with Pallabi police station in this regard.