Bizman lured by cheap gold, loses ₹1 crore

Five men were booked for cheating a businessman of ₹1 crore by falsely claiming to sell cheap gold from Customs auctions in Mumbai.

MUMBAI: Five men who claimed to have an in with the Customs department and duped a Kurla-based businessman to the tune of ₹1 crore by promising him cheap gold, were booked on Monday for cheating. Police said the accused lured the victim by lying that the Customs department auctioned off gold seized at the airport, which they buy at cheap rates to sell it for a price that is lower than the market price.

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The complainant, Imtiaz Shaikh, 44, runs a chicken shop and lives near Bharat Cinema in Kurla West with his family. He told the police that he met Anis D and Ganesh S through a mutual friend on the first week of September last year. They told Shaikh about a third person, Ilyas A, who heads their business and sells 24 carat gold biscuits, with bills, at a cheaper rate when compared to the market price. Police said Shaikh was lured by the offer and bought three gold biscuits from them on three occasions in the same month.

In the last week of September 2023, one of them called Shaikh and told him that the Customs had recently seized 6 kg gold, which was valued over ₹3 crore in the market. They offered to sell it for ₹1 crore to him. Shaikh requested for some time to arrange the money. A week later, Shaikh received a call from them again informing that the gold had arrived, and they were at a hotel in Bandra.

Borrowing ₹45 lakh from his cousin, brother, and friends, and ₹55 lakh of his own money, Shaikh went to meet Anis and Ganesh. He told the police he handed over the full amount in cash to them near Vakola Bridge in Santacruz East, after which they promised to deliver the gold that evening. However, they did not deliver and stopped responding to his calls.

Shaikh approached the Vakola police recently, and based on his complaint, a case was registered under Sections 316 (breach of trust, 318 (cheating), and 3 (6) (joint criminal liability) against the five suspects identified as Anis D, Ganesh S, Ilyas A, Ajmeri K, Sundar Singh, said a police officer.