A Nigerian man, Saheed Azeez, who was granted asylum in the United Kingdom after claiming to be gay, has been arrested for masterminding a £220,000 fraud.

He was said to have collected the items purchased from sites like eBay and Facebook Marketplace and sold them at his brother’s electronics store in Wigan, in the North-West of England.

Azeez, who went on to father three children with three different women, earned a portion of the sales and shared some profits with his accomplices in Bitcoin.

According to the UK Telegraph, two hundred and seventy-two people were tricked into shipping second-hand electronics, like smartphones and cameras, without receiving payment.

The news platform added that Azeez was allowed to settle in the UK after claiming he was being persecuted over his sexuality by Boko Haram militants in Nigeria.

The 33-year-ld Nigerian settled in Wigan, Greater Manchester, where he fathered three children by three different women after being granted asylum.

Police investigation began following unusual parcel activity in North Manchester, all linked to Azeez. He was apprehended while dropping off his son at school, where he attempted to hide three smartphones used in the scam in the child’s school bag.

He was also linked to the creation of 37 untraceable bank accounts under six different names, which accepted cryptocurrency as part of the racket.

Prosecutor Andy Evans explained that the phones revealed Azeez’s role in the online frauds, which involved contacting UK sellers of electronics and persuading them to send items before payment.