A 61-year-old resident of Kankurgachi lost Rs78.3 lakh after falling victim to a sophisticated courier-drug phishing scam, leading to the arrest of three men from Gujarat, police said.
The incident began in March 2024, when Dipannita Dhar received a call from someone claiming to be an employee of FedEx Courier Service in Mumbai’s Andheri East branch. The caller alleged that a courier booked in her name had been cancelled and instructed her to contact customer care on a number he provided.
According to officers from the Lalbazar Cyber Police Station, Dhar called the number and was told that a parcel booked using her Aadhaar details contained drugs. The fraudsters then alleged that suspicious activities were detected in her bank accounts.
To “clear her name,” they instructed her to transfer a security deposit to the Reserve Bank of India, assuring her that the funds would be refunded after verification.
Fearing arrest, Dhar liquidated her fixed deposits and transferred Rs78.3 lakh in two separate transactions. The final caller posed as a CBI officer, threatening her with legal action if she did not comply.
It was only later that Dhar realised she had been duped and filed a police complaint.
The cyber police tracked the operation to a gang based in Gujarat. Two members were arrested last week, followed by a third earlier this week. The accused have been identified as:
Varu Ravikant Gokalbhai, 37
Sondarva Jilesh Narendrabh, 21
Chandera Vipulkumar Kanabhai, 35
The investigation is ongoing as police work to trace others possibly connected to the fraud network.
