Two men were arrested in Bangalore on Thursday on charges of cheating a businessman in Calcutta of Rs 82 lakh by promising to help him set up a seed and fertiliser company’s distribution network in eastern India, police said.

Donous Arnold Patrick, alias Domo Raud, 30, and Bake Adoro, 30, both Nigerian nationals, were arrested by a city police team based on a complaint lodged by the businessman with the cyber crime police station in Salt Lake.

The two had opened a fake account on a social networking site with the profile picture of a woman, along with photographs, and used the account to approach the businessman on the networking site, an officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said. They had used its messaging service as well to contact the businessman, the officer said.

The profile looked like it belonged to a senior official of a company dealing in high-quality seeds and organic fertilizers, the officer said. The two offered the businessman a distribution network in eastern India, he said.

“They exchanged phone numbers and were in touch for a few months. During this time, the men managed to persuade the businessman to start a distributorship by citing a very high profit margin,” the officer said.

The businessman sent Rs 82 lakh in installments to the bank account numbers they had sent him. Once they got the money they snapped all forms of communication with the businessman, the officer said. “He was even blocked from the account on the social networking site. After several days, the businessman became suspicious when no one from the supposed company met him in the city.”

He then lodged the complaint with the cyber crime police station. He gave cops the numbers from which he had received the calls and the account numbers to which he had sent the money, the police said.

“We tracked the phone numbers and followed the money trail and zeroed in on the two. We are bringing them to the city from Bangalore on transit remand,” another officer said. “We will seek their custody... they have to be questioned. We are investigating if they had cheated others in a similar manner.”

At their houses in Bangalore, cops seized a cloning machine used to clone debit and credit cards and other gadgets. “It seems they are part of a well-organised racket,” the officer said.

The men will be produced in court in Salt Lake once they reach the city.