Cyber fraudsters who cheated USA citizens arrested from a bungalow in Lonavala

Police arrested 15 persons, which included eight persons from Thane, one from Navi Mumbai and six from Mumbai. Police said the bungalow was currently in possession of accused Vinod Rai of Thane.

Pune rural police have arrested a group of 15 persons from a bungalow in Lonavala for allegedly cheating several citizens of the United States of America by sending them fraudulent “voice mails”.

Acting on a tip-off to senior inspector Padmakar Ghanwat, a team of the local crime branch of the Pune rural police raided a bungalow in the Indrayani society in Lonavala on Thursday.

Police arrested 15 persons, which included eight persons from Thane, one from Navi Mumbai and six from Mumbai. Police said the bungalow was currently in possession of accused Vinod Rai of Thane.

A press release issued by the police stated that the accused persons allegedly operated from a bungalow in Lonavala in July 2020 and allegedly procured details of several USA citizens through illegal ways.

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Police said that some of the accused persons allegedly used computer software and internet tools to contact these USA citizens. According to the Police, the accused persons allegedly forwarded fraudulent voice mails to the USA citizens threatening to take legal action against them for carrying out some wrongful activities.

Police said accused persons further asked the American nationals to purchase gift cards from various stores to settle the case. Police suspect that after the American nationals purchased these gift cards, the fraudsters took details of these gift cards from them and converted them into Indian currency via online transactions.

Meanwhile, police also found an illegal plantation of marijuana in the premises of a bungalow in Lonavala where the raid was conducted. 430 grams of marijuana worth Rs 6000 has been seized from the spot.

Police have booked the accused persons under sections 419 of the Indian Penal Code, sections of the Information Technology Act and Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Police havaldar Suryakant Wani has lodged the first information report (FIR) in this case at the Lonavala rural police station.

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