Fake Call Centres Are Operating At Over 400 Locations Across The Country, Say Police
The Thane police have mapped close to 400 locations across the country.
Thane police have mapped close to 400 locations across the country, from where mass calls were made to defraud US taxpayers of millions of dollars.
"A VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) mapping by our technical experts has pointed out that the scamming call centres are operating from Andheri, Malad, Mira Road, Nalasopara, Thane, Vashi, Panvel, Pen, Vapi, Surat, Navsari, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Noida and Gaziabad," police said.
"We have alerted the police in those areas and action is imminent."
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Sagar Thakkar, the 23-year-old mastermind of the racket, which was busted last Tuesday, is believed to be holed up in Dubai.
The police have alerted Indian immigration authorities about him and sought information about his sister Reema Thakkar-Patel, who was key to the hawala aspect of the racket and who is believed to have fled the country after the October 4 crackdown on their call centres at Mira Road.
US homeland security and IRS (Internal Revenue Service) officials are likely to visit Thane.
A senior official from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Suhel Daud, called on police commissioner Param Bir Singh, seeking a status update on the probe.
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"(Daud) shared some clues connected with the scam. We have decided to share some of the links with US agencies without disturbing the sanctity of the probe here," Singh said.
"It is essential to nab culprits in the US and the FBI has agreed to do so as and when required," said Parag Manere, DCP (crime), Thane.
US agencies have informed the police about the arrest of two Indian immigrants, Nikita Natvarlal Patel and Akash Patel, from New Jersey for being part of the call centre racket. The two are said to have been runners for the cartel; they collected money from the victims into accounts given by them.
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Meanwhile, the police have secured custody extension of several accused. They told the court the operators pocketed Rs 9 crore in just two months.
Some of them had received around Rs 6 crores through Angadias. An officer said that one of the accused, Avinash, was aware of a Hawala amount of Rs 80 lakh.