In yet another customs-cum-courier scam, cyber fraudsters duped a 70-year-old Marine Drive resident of Rs 3.5 lakh claiming they had seized a parcel in his name containing drugs and a few passports.
The complainant was threatened with an arrest warrant for the alleged offence and the accused demanded to settle the matter in lieu of Rs 3.5 lakh that the complainant said he had saved up in his account. The septuagenarian, who runs a machine and tools business, realised he was cheated after transferring the money to the accused, and lodged an FIR on Jan 20.
The complainant told police that on Jan 17 morning, he received a call from a person who claimed he was a Customs officer and was calling from Lucknow. The caller told the complainant they had found a 4-kg parcel containing clothes, 20 passports and 150g MDMA drug. The caller told him the parcel contained the complainant’s name and was being sent to Myanmar. The caller asked the complainant to come to Lucknow and give his statement.
When the complainant said he had not sent any parcel to anyone, the caller said he would forward the call to Gomati Nagar police station in Lucknow. Another man spoke to the complainant and asked him to download Telegram App and then he made a video call to record his statement. The caller told the complainant that money laundering of Rs 38 crore was done in his name and he even got a 10% commission for it. When the complainant denied any wrongdoing, the caller showed him a letter saying that the CBI had issued an arrest warrant against him and his properties could be seized and he could face up to five years’ jail. To avoid police action, the caller gave the complainant a bank account number and asked him to transfer Rs 3.5 lakh.