Mumbai cops arrest 36 people for running fake call centres, duping foreigners

Representative pic

The Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested 36 people, including six women, for allegedly running fake call centers in the Jogeshwari and Goregaon areas. The gangs targeted foreign nationals by selling banned medicines such as Viagra, Tramadol, Cialis, and Levitra. Some members of the gang also duped Indian nationals by offering fake loans and promising to improve their CIBIL scores. Their operations were conducted via internet voice calls.

Units 10 and 12 of the Mumbai Crime Branch carried out the raids in the case recently.

"The suspects allegedly lured international customers into purchasing non-existent pharmaceutical products through online platforms. During the raids, the police seized a total of 35 equipment, including laptops and mobile phones, which were used in the operations as well as other evidence linking the suspects to the fraudulent call centres," said Vishal Thakur, Deputy Commission of Police (DCP), Detection-1.

Unit 10 arrested individuals linked to two companies: Gate Pharma LLP and All Win Info Media Pvt Ltd in Mumbai. These companies posed as legitimate pharmaceutical firms to scam foreign customers. Meanwhile, Unit 12 apprehended members of another company involved in similar fraudulent activities, including providing fake loans to Indian nationals.