Fake medicine export deal bleeds Chandigarh man of ₹60 lakh

The victim, Sunil Kumar of Sector 32-C, was duped under the pretext of facilitating export of a cancer medicine, Avastin Powder, to an alleged US-based pharmaceutical company

Lured with a lucrative overseas medicine supply deal, a city-based businessman ended up getting duped of ₹60.65 lakh in an elaborate online fraud.

Sunil was directed to procure the medicine from a supplier named Sharma Enterprises based in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. (HT File)

The victim, Sunil Kumar of Sector 32-C, was duped under the pretext of facilitating export of a cancer medicine, Avastin Powder, to an alleged US-based pharmaceutical company in exchange for a substantial profit.

According to the complaint filed with the cyber crime cell, Sunil was first contacted through Facebook by one Morris Pauline, who introduced him to a deal to supply 300-500 kg of Avastin Powder every month to Actelion Laboratory, USA. The deal appeared legitimate, with email communications initiated from actelionpharma01@yahoo.com and further coordination taking place over WhatsApp.

Sunil was directed to procure the medicine from a supplier named Sharma Enterprises based in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. He subsequently made an initial order of 50 kg by paying ₹13 lakh to bank accounts linked to the firm.

The fraud then unfolded gradually with a series of fabricated delays. Sunil was told that a truck transporting his consignment met with an accident and told to pay ₹10 lakh for logistics.

As the final step of deception, Sunil was asked to pay for opening an offshore account to receive his payments. He paid 10,000 US dollars, ₹9.68 lakh for an IMF referral code and 4,000 US dollars for a deposit—bringing the total fraud amount to ₹60.65 lakh. The victim eventually realised he had been scammed and alerted the cyber cell, triggering a probe.