Promising to get items stuck with Customs cleared, Mumbai man cheats duo of Rs4.2 lakh

The department seizes items imported from foreign countries without paying the Customs duty or tax. The owner has to pay the amount fixed by the government to get the items back

The police on Sunday arrested a 52-year-old man who allegedly cheated two men of Rs4.2 lakh on the pretext of getting their goods stuck with the Customs department cleared. He will be in police custody till October 13.

The department seizes items imported from foreign countries without paying the Customs duty or tax. While the owner has to pay the amount fixed by the government to get the items back, the accused used to promise to “sell the consignments for much lower rates”.

The complainant, Avinash Avte, 30, alleged Ali Sadiq Sajwani promised to get him a Rs6.5-lakh consignment containing gold coins, mobile phones and other items cleared for Rs5 lakh, using his “clout in the department”. Avte claimed he paid Sajwani, an HSC dropout who lived in Lokhandwala, Rs2.5 lakh as the first installment.

During the probe, the police learnt that Sajwani worked as a Customs clearing agent at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Navi Mumbai around 15 years ago.

On Sunday, another man filed a complaint that Sajwani took Rs1.70 lakh from him.

The Sahar police have filed two FIRs and are checking if he cheated more people.