Mumbai: Tanishq ex-staffer arrested for duping Santacruz store of Rs 54 lakh

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The Santacruz police successfully apprehended the mastermind behind the cheating scam at India's renowned Tanishq Jewellery stores. The culprit employed fake gold coins to dupe the establishment, resulting in a loss of 54 lakhs rupees. The accused, identified as Vinit Soni (44), was formerly employed at a Tanishq Jewellery store in Gujarat. Using identical packaging, logos, and designs, Soni managed to swap the gold-plated silver coins with the genuine ones. Previously, the Santacruz police had arrested Soni's nephew in connection with the case.

The uncle-nephew duo targeted over seven Tanishq jewellery stores across Mumbai, including those in Santacruz West, Andheri West, Inorbit Malad West, Goregaon West, Matunga East, and Borivali West. They also carried out fraudulent activities at Tanishq stores in Surat and Ahmedabad. Despite multiple notices and a rejected bail application, Vinit Soni had been evading the police for several years, having conned seven Tanishq jewellery stores in Mumbai. The police have yet to recover the stolen jewellery from him.

The incidents occurred between December 2021 and January 2022 when Vinit Soni and his nephew Prithvi Soni (20) visited the Tanishq Jewellery store located on Linking Road in Santacruz West. They presented three gold coins, weighing 10 grams each, which bore the Tanishq jewellery symbols and hallmarks. The coins were meticulously packaged to resemble the original packaging. In return, the accused received gold jewellery from the store while submitting the coins. However, a week later, during the process of melting the coins, it was discovered that they were counterfeit. The store immediately alerted the Santacruz police and filed a First Information Report (FIR).

In May 2022, the Santacruz police apprehended Prithvi Soni in Ahmedabad, but Vinit Soni, the mastermind, remained at large. The police suspect the involvement of insiders due to the authentic appearance of the coin packaging. They are currently investigating how Vinit Soni managed to acquire such genuine packaging.

A police officer stated, "Vinit was aware that as long as the packaging remained intact, the store staff would not open it and would directly send it for melting. The size, weight, hallmark, and design of the coins brought by the accused were indistinguishable from the original ones. The store only realized it had been deceived after the coins were sent for melting several days later."