Pune: The Cyber Crime Police of Pimpri-Chinchwad have uncovered a gang from Rajasthan involved in an elaborate fraud scheme. The gang impersonated officers from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and falsely claimed that drugs were found in courier shipments to extort money.

In a significant breakthrough, four members of the gang have been arrested, and assets worth ₹72 lakh have been seized, including multiple mobile phones, SIM cards, and two cars.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Mohammed Ilyas Mohammed Sadiq Kalal (age 36), Mohammed Shahid Ahmed Ali (age 25), Puran Singh Ratan Singh (age 24), and Nazil Khatri Manwar Ali Khatri (age 29), all hailing from Rajasthan.

The gang used a method involving WhatsApp and Telegram to contact victims and posed as representatives of a major courier company, such as FedEx. The victims were informed that illegal drugs had been discovered in a courier package linked to their Aadhaar numbers and names by Mumbai Customs.

The gang then claimed to be officials from the NCB, instilling fear of arrest in the victims. Under the pretense of helping them, they managed to convince their targets to transfer money into various bank accounts, amounting to a total of ₹12.22 lakh in one case.

During the investigation, it was found that one of the accounts used in the fraud belonged to a rickshaw driver from Nashik. A thorough investigation led the police to a group residing in Pune’s Pisoli area.

A raid was conducted at ARV New Town Society, where the police found several incriminating items including 18 mobile phones, 90 SIM cards, and bank passbooks, among others.

Additionally, the gang was found to be transferring money both domestically and internationally using USDT, a cryptocurrency. The police are continuing their investigation to trace the full extent of the gang's operations and any additional accomplices.