A young couple were recently arrested in connection with an online romance scam that swindled victims out of hundreds of thousands of dalasis.

They were arrested alongside the man's side chick, who works at a forex bureau in Bijilo.

Amadou Jallow created a Facebook profile using stolen photos of Malian social media influencer Binta Bolly to catfish unsuspecting men who were looking for a light skin woman to marry.

Bakary Lang Dibba, an Austria-based Gambian, disclosed: "I knew the Facebook account was fake. I knew it was a scam."

Amadou was arrested in Brusubi by police officers from the Anti-Crime Unit in Banjunlinding. His wife and side chick, who were used to fake a romantic relationship with victims, were also arrested and briefly detained.

One of their victims revealed: "I was duped out of D10,000 which I gave to the side chick, who posed as a sister to the light skin woman on their fake Facebook profile. I was later invited to the Anti-Crime and informed that it was a scam."

According to an insider at the Anti-Crime Headquarters: "Amadou's wife and side chick did not know about each other. During interrogation, the side chick disclosed he rented an apartment for her.

Their victims include politicians, semesters and senior civil servants. The trio are currently on bail while police continue their investigation.