Two “African sorcerers” were detained in Moscow for selling a potion which they claimed would magically turn paper into U.S. dollars, the police said on Wednesday.
Two Cameroonians, aged 30 and 27, reportedly “swindled $10,000 out of one of their victims under the guise of a magic metamorphosis,” the department said in a statement.
To convince people that their potion worked, they sandwiched a 100-dollar note between two pieces of paper, poured the liquid on it and packed it into aluminum foil “to trigger a reaction.” Then they secretly replaced the envelope with a similar one containing real money.
Police believe the men have already conned a number of Russians.
Last year, at least two groups of Cameroon nationals were detained for scams involving “magical liquid.”