Chinese, Malaysian police detain 14 Nigerians for fraud

BEIJING - Chinese and Malaysian police have jointly busted a transnational fraud group, seizing 14 Nigerian suspects, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) revealed on Monday.

The group was based in Malaysia and mainly consisted of Nigerians who pretended to be seeking potential wives on the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Australia through matchmaking websites, according to the MPS.

They asked their victims for money by claiming to be doing business or paying tariffs. Several victims were tricked into traveling to Malaysia, where they were gang raped, the MPS said.

Chinese police locked on the group after a victim reported that she was cheated out of more than 9 million yuan ($1.46 million) by a foreign man she met online.

On April 25, Chinese police and their Malaysian counterparts captured the 14 suspects, finding hundreds of pictures and contact information for women from the Chinese mainland.

Malaysian police are reviewing the case and discussing possible prosecution, according to the MPS.