Mumbai: Sakinaka cops bust international fraud ring

The police said the money was sent to the mastermind in Dubai. Representation Pic

The Sakinaka police arrested six individuals involved in a sophisticated scam operation targeting unsuspecting people under the guise of making big bucks through ‘like, share and earn' tasks. The suspects - Prithviraj Chauhan, Pradeep Rajbhar, Shivam Singh, Sandeep Yadav, Vishwas Chaurasia, and Nikhil Singh - were apprehended for their roles in the fraudulent scheme masterminded by Chauhan.

The victim - a housewife residing in Andheri - fell prey to the elaborate ruse after receiving a text message on August 1 from a person claiming to be ‘Sophia', representing a digital company. The message offered a part-time job opportunity that involved writing reviews. The woman was asked to make small investments to receive tasks to complete and get paid. She invested Rs 38,000 in total but didn't get any returns. Realising she had been duped, she then reported the incident at the Sakinaka police station.

Under the guidance of DCP Datta Nalavde, the police began their efforts to unravel the scam. During the course of their investigation, the police gathered vital information that led them to Sandeep who was located in Nalasopara. Chauhan's involvement came to light during Sandeep's interrogation, which resulted in his arrest. Further interrogations led to the apprehension of Pradeep, Shivam, Vishwas, and Nikhil.

It was determined that Chauhan orchestrated the entire operation, facilitating the creation of fraudulent bank accounts by paying the arrested individuals sums ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000. These accounts were portrayed as being used for trading and Chauhan received a commission of Rs 5,000 for each account. He then provided the user IDs and passwords to fraudsters operating from Dubai. All six suspects were subsequently arrested and presented before the court, which remanded them to police custody.

"The investigation took a remarkable turn when it was discovered that the mastermind behind this intricate scam is based in Dubai. The operation revealed a connection between fraudulent activities and a network spanning from Dubai to China. The fraudsters would briefly open bank accounts solely for the purpose of transferring illicit funds before closing them the following day. Once the money was in these accounts, it was promptly diverted through cryptocurrency channels," said an officer from Sakinaka police. According to the officer, each of the arrested individuals had received deposits ranging from R8 lakh to Rs 10 lakh into their respective accounts in one day, to be rerouted to fraudsters in Dubai.