Police in the Indian state of Gujarat have arrested 17 people, including four Taiwanese, for allegedly conducting a ‘nationwide’ scam involving ‘virtual’ arrest of the elderly. This elaborate scam made victims think they had committed criminal activity and were under investigation for it, including money laundering or drug trafficking. The scammers then forced the victims to pay more money to avoid paying these imagined charges, which created much stress for the elderly individuals.
The Taiwanese suspects include Mu Chi Sang, 42 years, Chang Hu Yun, 33 years, Wang Chun Wei, 26 years, and Shen Wei, 35 years, who were arrested in Delhi and Bengaluru simultaneously after being monitored and tracked technically. As per the police, these people are very involved in supervising illegal activities, handling rooted mobile phones, and coordinating with scams. The other thirteen suspects who were arrested come from different states of India; others are from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Rajasthan.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch, Ahmedabad, Gujarat) said, ‘’It is probably the largest scam operation in recent years of its kind.’’ He said that the Taiwanese nationals had been operating in India for nearly one year to supply crucial cell phone applications and technical assistance to enable the exchange of money between gang members.
The police stressed that the Taiwanese played a crucial part in the scam, providing the rooted mobile phones and arranging the necessary technical conditions. Their activities operated beyond the geographical location of India; they moved to countries including Cambodia, Duba, and China to conduct their fraudulent activities. Among the arrested Indians, Saif Haider helped the Taiwanese set up technical equipment for one-time passwords (OTPs) and bank accounts.
Law enforcement officials also seized various utensils during the operation; Among them were 761 SIM cards, 120 mobile phones, 96 cheque books, and 92 debit and credit cards, among other electronic gadgets.
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