AHMEDABAD: A Facebook friendship between a Jasdan farmer and an African woman allegedly ended with the farmer losing Rs 6.30 lakh, leading Rajkot Cyber Crime Police to uncover a wider cyber-fraud network involving fake gift parcels and scripted conversations.
Police have arrested Majioko Maduabuchi, identified as the former boyfriend of the African woman, from Delhi and brought him to Rajkot on five-day remand. He was arrested after Angel, who was earlier arrested in connection with the case, allegedly named him during interrogation.
According to police, Maduabuchi and Angel were in a relationship until March. Investigators suspect that Maduabuchi prepared scripts and plans to target victims, while Angel allegedly carried out the conversations with them.
In the Jasdan case, Angel allegedly befriended the farmer on Facebook and presented herself as a widow with a child. After gaining his trust, she allegedly told him that a gift parcel had been sent to him and that money was needed to clear it at an airport. The farmer allegedly made payments in instalments and lost around Rs 6.30 lakh.
Police suspect the accused used prepared conversations to build trust, create urgency and persuade victims to pay money for the release of parcels. Investigators also found photographs of parcels allegedly used to make the scam appear genuine.
Police suspect AI-based tools, including ChatGPT, were used to create or enhance realistic-looking parcel images shown to victims as proof of the gifts.
The investigation has so far identified six victims allegedly targeted through the same modus operandi. Police are also examining around 15 bank accounts for their possible links to the fraud.
Rajkot Rural SP Vijay Singh Gurjar, while speaking to the media, said, “A fraud case was registered at the Rajkot Rural Cyber Police Station on August 3, 2026, after a foreign woman allegedly created a Facebook profile in her name and cheated the complainant of more than Rs 6 lakh. Three accused have been arrested so far Angel and Dennis, both residents of Ghana, and Joseph, a resident of South Sudan. Their interrogation and further investigation are currently underway.”
Giving details of the material seized during the investigation, Gurjar said, “Police have recovered four mobile phones, one laptop, three SIM cards, one passport, a pen drive, a Wi-Fi receiver and Rs 20,900 in cash from the accused. During the arrest operation, one of the phones was found to have been formatted. The device has been sent for forensic data recovery, and investigators are working to retrieve the deleted information, which could provide further clues in the case.”
The case involves foreign nationals, including Angel from Ghana and two other arrested youths reportedly from Tanzania and Sudan. Police are coordinating with other state and central agencies to trace the wider network and financial channels.
The investigation is now focused on the alleged script, digital identities used to approach victims, the 15 bank accounts and the possibility of more victims being targeted through the “gift parcel” scam.