Agra Police have arrested four individuals—Dharmendra (alias Dharma), Suraj, Shankar, and a woman—for operating a fake gold scam that defrauded victims of nearly Rs22 lakh across several Indian states. The arrests were made on Thursday, and the suspects were caught with 2 kg of fake gold and Rs3.78 lakh in cash.
The gang was based in Meerut, living in a rented house, but frequently traveled to Assam, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and other states to target unsuspecting victims. According to Inspector Alok Kumar of Hariparvat police station, they have confessed to cheating at least six victims in Agra alone.
Their scam involved convincing people they had discovered gold bricks while digging land. To build trust, they would let victims test a real gold sample before handing over counterfeit gold in exchange for large sums of money.
The group used SIM cards bought with fake IDs to avoid detection and remain untraceable. Police are now tracing the source of these fraudulent SIMs and looking for others involved.
Police Officer Aditya Kumar urged the public to stay vigilant and report any suspicious low-price gold deals, warning that such schemes are often part of organized fraud.
The investigation is ongoing as police continue efforts to identify more victims and recover additional stolen funds.
