Mumbai Police arrest mule in fake company case

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Kandivli cyber police have arrested one person from a gang that cheated a businessman by creating a fake company on the IndiaMart website. The gang would take orders, collect money from customers and then disappear without delivering the goods. One person who offered his service as a mule to facilitate the transfer of funds has been arrested from Surat, while two others are absconding.

According to police sources, a Kandivli-based corporate gifting business owner learned from a friend about a company named Honest The Wholesale Hub on the IndiaMart website. He expressed interest in purchasing magic Holi balloons from the company. The suspect and the victim communicated via WhatsApp and the victim transferred Rs 25,000 as an advance to purchase 10,200 magic Holi balloons. After verifying the company's details on Google, including the GST number, he trusted the accused and paid Rs 1.90 lakh. Later, he paid an additional Rs 2.23 lakh after seeing the goods at a warehouse in Bhiwandi in February.

The victim paid a total of Rs 4.38 lakh. However, when he reached the warehouse to load the goods, the warehouse owner revealed that he had only chatted with the Honest The Wholesale Hub company on WhatsApp and that they had not paid for the goods. Realizing the fraud, the victim called the accused, but his phone was switched off. He then approached the Kandivli cyber police to lodge a case.

Under the guidance of Anand Bhoite, DCP, Zone 11 and senior police inspector Dyaneshwar Ganore, the cyber team began the investigation. They traced the bank account where the victim's money was transferred and reached Surat in Gujarat. Using bank details and contact numbers, they detained and later arrested Limbachiya last week, according to an officer from the Kandivli police station.

Limbachiya's father is in the salon business and Limbachiya himself was taking a hairdressing course, aiming to establish his unisex salon in Surat City. He provided his bank account to the accused for the transaction of the fraudulent amount to quickly fulfill his dream. The police have identified the other two accused involved in the crime with Limbachiya, but they are currently untraceable. Senior police inspector Ganore of Kandivli police station has confirmed the arrest of Limbachiya.

Rs 4.38 lakh

Money lost by the victim