Panaji: The crime branch on Wednesday conducted two raids and arrested 18 people for operating two fake call centres in Panaji, where fraudsters scammed US citizens by pretending to be loan company agents.
Police seized material worth over Rs 1 crore from the fake call centres.
First Raid at St Inez
Crime branch PI Tushar Lotliker said that the centre was being operated from an apartment at St Inez, and the raid was conducted early on Wednesday. This led to the arrest of Yash Dessai, 29, and Karan Mala, 23, from Gujarat, along with Mihir Desai and Sajjan.
The employees included Rishav Chowbey, 26, and Dibya Rava, 30, from Assam; Rushit Batham, 28, from Gujarat; Aamir Harun, 34, from Delhi; and Vishvajit Sonawane, 32, from Gujarat.
According to officers, these employees procured personal details of US citizens and, using laptops and a virtual private network, contacted victims by impersonating loan company agents. The accused induced innocent US citizens to pay huge amounts in the form of gift cards on the pretext of providing loans and instant money.
Police seized seven laptops, 13 mobile phones, a sedan, and other articles worth Rs 30 lakh.
Second Raid at Dona Paula
The second raid was also conducted early on Wednesday by a team led by PI Manguesh Valvaikar at a housing society in Dona Paula.
Police arrested Mahipalsinh Rathod, 23; Shelat Yunusbhai; Rohan Chettiar, 29, from Gujarat; Shubham Desai, 27, from Rajasthan; Santanu Kar, 30, from West Bengal; and Sankalp Kane, 32; Satyam Singh, 22; Bijesh Rane, 40; Vilas Utekar, 26; and Akshit Patil, 26, from Maharashtra.
Police said that, similar to the first case, they posed as loan company agents and used an app to call US citizens. They induced these citizens to pay large sums in the form of gift cards, promising loans and instant cash.
Eight laptops, 11 mobile phones, and three vehicles, all worth Rs 64.7 lakh, were seized. Further investigation is ongoing.
