Delhi police bust gang that used phone exchange offers to dupe victims

The interstate gang of cheats operated in Delhi and Telanagana. They handed people fake phone in return of old ones.

This gang of cheats shuttled between Delhi and Hyderabad and travelled regularly by flight. They trapped people with lucrative phone exchange offers online and duped them by handing over fake phones in exchange of old ones. On Monday, the Delhi police, busted the gang and arrested the 32-year-old kingpin, identified as Ashraf, a resident of Mustafabad in Delhi.

The gang trapped people with lucrative phone exchange offers online and duped them by handing over fake phones in exchange of old ones.

Police said Ashraf’s network operated in Delhi and Telangana. He travelled back and forth between Delhi and Hyderabad via air for this. They suspect it helped him throw the cops off scent and entrap prospective customers. With Ashraf’s arrest, the police claim they have solved two cheating cases registered in Delhi and 10 in Telangana.

Vijay Kumar, deputy commissioner of police, west district, said that the gang members used to advertise at a popular online marketplace. “Their advertisements read: ‘For sale or exchange of mobile phones’. They were active in Delhi and Telangana,” said the DCP.

The kingpin of the gang, Ashraf, was arrested by Delhi police on Monday.

Kumar said that the arrest came after head constable Vikas was tipped off that Ashraf, who had been evading arrest, would be at Subhash Nagar Mor in West Delhi. “A team was formed and it laid a trap near Woodland Park in Subhash Nagar Mor. Ashraf was caught as he arrived on a scooter. He was carrying a mobile phone which he had stolen from Delhi’s Bhajanpura area,” said Kumar.

During the questioning, Ashraf disclosed that he used to deceive people by luring them at an online marketplace. He, along with his associates, fled with the original mobile phone or cash after handing over dummy mobile phones to the unsuspecting victims.

In 2015, he was arrested along with his relative Gulzar while they were trying to cheat a customer. His other associates were arrested by the Telangana Police whereas Ashraf was on the run. “Telengana Police have been informed about Ashraf’s arrest,” said the DCP.