Three men were arrested in connection with a FedEx parcel scam that led to a suburban resident being defrauded of Rs 65 lakh. One of the accused acted as a money mule, receiving the stolen funds into his bank account and transferring them to two others. The other two then sent the money, in the form of cryptocurrency, to the mastermind of the scam, who remains at large.
The victim received an automated phone call, which he believed was from FedEx couriers. After following the instructions and pressing the keys on his phone, a man named Rohit Roy, claiming to be from FedEx, informed him that a suspicious parcel had been sent to Taiwan in his name. The parcel was said to contain drugs, passports, and other items. The victim was then told that the cybercrime police were investigating the case. Soon, others joined the call, claiming that his Aadhaar card had been misused for money laundering, leading to potential criminal charges.
The scam deepened when the victim was told that his documents were involved in a crime punishable by a seven-year prison sentence. A fake letter with a police logo was even sent to him. Believing the con, the victim transferred Rs 65 lakh to the accused.
Following a thorough investigation under DCP Datta Nalawade’s supervision, police traced the suspects to Shubham Padve (26) from Borivali, Fayyan Shaikh (22), and Adnan Mirza (21) from Malad. The men were arrested on July 8. The authorities were able to freeze Rs 13.5 lakh of the defrauded sum from their accounts and recovered multiple mobile phones, ATM cards, passbooks, and other items.
Padve had received the stolen money into his bank account and handed over cheques to Shaikh and Mirza. The two then transferred the funds in cryptocurrency to the mastermind, who is still on the run. The investigation continues as the police work to trace the individuals involved in making the phone calls to the victim.