Ten arrested for operating illegal call centre in Andheri

Mumbai police arrest ten individuals for running an illegal call centre defrauding US residents by offering banned sex pills and not delivering.

The Mumbai crime branch arrested ten individuals for their involvement in running an illegal call centre situated at MIDC, Andheri (east). The accused, operating through Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) calls targeted residents in the United States (US), offering banned medicinal sex pills and defrauding them by failing to deliver despite receiving payments. Various electronic equipment from the illicit operation has been seized by the police.

HT Image

The arrested individuals are identified as Shakib Mustaque Sayyad, Yash Rajesh Sharma, Uzer Usman Gani Shaikh, Gautam Deepak Mhadik, Junaid Shamim Shaikh, Jeevan Lokesh Gauda, Munib Junaid Shaikh, Hussain Haidarali Shaikh, Vijay Dashrath Kori, and Mohammad Sufiyan Nadim Ahmed Mukadam. Additionally, the police have issued notices to four women working at the call centre and will question them soon. Three more suspects remain at large, and the police are looking for them.

According to the police, an official of unit 10 received a tip-off about the illegal call centre, named ‘V3 Global Services,’ operating on the third floor of ‘The Summit Business Park’ near Western Express Metro Station, Andheri (East). Utilising VOIP calls, the accused posed as representatives of fictitious firms like ‘Online Pharmacy,’ ‘Get Pharmacy,’ and ‘Time Health,’ deceiving US citizens.

Police inspector Deepak Sawant, along with his team, confirmed the information and subsequently raided the premises. The raid found 23 computers with headphones and various other pieces of equipment. Pretending to be representatives of fictitious companies, the accused fraudulently sought orders for medications like Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra from victims, said deputy commissioner of police Raj Tilak Roushan of the crime branch.

The victims were instructed to email their medication requirements, after which the accused sent the medications through courier services. However, in some cases, the accused received payments without delivering the promised medicines. The victims paid in dollars and once police verified the bank accounts of the accused and firm, they learned that the accused have received around ₹20 lakh in a month on average, said Roushan.

“It appears that the accused have collected the data of US citizens through their contacts in that country. The investigation will reveal who had supplied them with contact details of the US citizens,” mentioned Sawant. Several electronic items were seized and the accused was arrested in multiple sections of the IPC and IT Act, added the officer.