Dharavi Police have arrested 36-year-old Sonu Baba Peer Mohammad, a resident of Airoli, Navi Mumbai, for running a fraudulent loan scam through fake mobile purchases.
Sonu Baba, with over 15 cases registered against him in police stations such as Sion, Dongri, and Dharavi, allegedly duped multiple individuals by promising easy loans at low interest rates.
In one instance, a 30-year-old woman from Sion, seeking a loan of Rs. 80,000, was convinced by Sonu Baba that she could obtain a loan of up to Rs1.5 lakh using her husband’s documents. He asked them to meet at a mobile store in Dharavi, claiming he would buy a mobile phone on EMI using the documents, sell it to a third party, and transfer the cash proceeds to them.
The woman handed over her husband’s documents, and Sonu Baba purchased an iPhone 15. He recorded a video of her unboxing the phone to build trust but then took the phone and box, handing it to another person. The woman never received the loan amount or the phone.
Following the complaint, police launched an investigation, revealing that Sonu Baba used this modus operandi repeatedly across Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. He is now in custody, with investigations ongoing to uncover the scam’s full scale.
