Pune rural police have busted an alleged cyber fraud call centre operating from a bungalow in Nangargaon village near Lonavala and arrested 20 people accused of cheating foreign nationals through online scams, officials said on Friday.
The police action followed a tip-off and a raid on Thursday at Dev Villa bungalow in Omega Society, where investigators found the accused speaking and chatting in English on mobile phones and laptops. The occupants told police that the premises was a call centre but could not produce documents showing permission to operate from the location, according to a press release issued by Pune rural police.
Police said the group allegedly contacted people in the United States, Canada and other countries through international calls made using online applications. Some of the accused allegedly posed as representatives of companies including Amazon and Google while seeking bank account details from foreign nationals.
Investigators said the alleged fraud involved threats and extortion using methods described as ‘drugs in parcel’ and ‘digital arrests’, among other cyber scams. Police suspect that several foreigners were cheated of crores of rupees, but the exact amount and number of victims are yet to be established.
The police seized mobile phones, laptops, cash, a four-wheeler and other articles valued at Rs 37.41 lakh from the premises. The accused have been booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Information Technology Act and the Indian Telegraph Act, the police said.
Police identified Mohammad Faiz alias Najish Arif Shaikh, Irfan Abdul Gafur Khan and Sameer Irfan Khan as alleged kingpins in the case. The three are suspected of having links with cyber-fraud operators in different parts of India and abroad, according to investigators.
The arrests also highlight how a residential property in a private housing development was allegedly used for an unauthorised commercial operation involving international communications and digital financial fraud. The police statement did not provide details on the tenancy or ownership arrangements at the bungalow, or on whether any housing society officials had reported suspicious activity before the raid.
The arrested persons include individuals from Mumbai, Badlapur and Shillong, Meghalaya, as well as locations in Mumbai’s Malad and Matunga areas. Police said the investigation is examining how the alleged call centre was established, how the operators obtained contact numbers of foreign nationals and whether other people or networks were involved.
A Pune court remanded the accused to police custody for one day on Thursday. Pune rural police said they would seek an extension of custody to continue the investigation into the alleged fraud network, the identity of additional operators and the suspected financial losses.
