Thane police arrested Zakir Ali Samad Ali Kazi, 50, on Thursday for allegedly cheating at least 10 victims out of a total of Rs 47.69 lakh by promising high returns on investments in his car dealing business. Kazi had been on the run since July 2023 when a case was registered against him at the Rabodi police station for cheating and criminal breach of trust.
According to police officials, Kazi used his business, which focused on the sale and purchase of cars, to gain the trust of people. He would promise them lucrative returns on their investments and initially pay out a small amount to maintain their trust. However, in mid-2022, he shut down his business abruptly and ceased all communication with the victims, who were left with no way to recover their money.
The scam came to light when victims filed a complaint in July 2023, accusing Kazi of cheating them of Rs 47.69 lakh. They claimed Kazi had used his family members to build further trust, convincing them to invest larger sums of money, only for him to disappear when the time came to pay back.
In addition to this scam, police revealed that Kazi has a history of cheating, with at least four previous cases filed against him. His son, Adnaan Zakir Kazi, 23, is still on the run, and the authorities are continuing their search for him.
Kazi was finally tracked down and arrested in Mumbra, Thane, after evading capture for over a year.
