Thane Crime Branch foils Dollar exchange scam

The five accused apprehended by the police

The Anti-Extortion Cell of Thane crime branch has arrested five people including a woman and busted a gang that was into cheating people on the pretext of giving dollars at a cheaper rate. The Thane Crime Branch sleuths arrested them from Rabodi in Thane and seized a mobile phone and cash worth Rs 1.86 lakh from the accused.

"The accused would deceive people by offering to exchange or sell foreign dollars at a reduced rate. In return, they would take Rs 2 to 3 lakh and hand over a small amount of dollars along with paper, instead of the promised currency, cheating the victims. The team operated with careful planning, by getting familiar with shopkeepers or locals thus gaining trust, and ultimately defrauding people with promises of lucrative gains," said an officer.

The police during the investigation found that the accused hail from Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Delhi. They rented a flat in Mankoli Naka in Bhiwandi that they would use as their shelter.

The police said the arrested accused are identified as Hasan Musa Shaikh, 29, and Farzana Alias Kajali Ameerullah Shaikh 39, both from New Delhi. Ameer Ali Khan, 26, and Majidali Tahir Hussain, 39, from Uttar and Haider Shaikh, 32, from West Bengal, Maloja Shinde, Senior Police Inspector, said, "We have arrested the accused who rented a flat in Mankoli Naka in Bhiwandi. Until now we found two cases against them which were at Manpada in Dombivli and Deonar. Accordingly, we handed over the accused to Manpada police, who will further investigate the matter," added Shinde.