Bhubaneswar: Pay Rs 5 lakh and get Rs 10 lakh in 100 rupee denominations seems to be a perfect deal to make quick bucks. But don’t get lured by any such offers made from unknown phone numbers as the Commissionerate Police on Friday busted a criminal gang that used to dupe people with such lucrative offers.
Three persons including one from West Bengal and two others from Odisha have been arrested by the cops in Bhubaneswar for allegedly duping a person from Jharkhand to the tune of Rs 5 lakh.
Bhubaneswar DCP Anup Sahu informed that the criminal gang used to make random calls and lure people by promising them Rs 10 lakh against payment of Rs 5 lakh.
“The gang members used to convince people over telephone that they have black money in 100 rupee denominations and are willing to pay double the amount to dispose it off,” said Sahu.
Sahu further informed that after striking deals, the criminals force the victim to come to any isolated place and used to decamp by handing over fake currencies stuffed in several packets.
Apart from fake currency notes, they used to dupe people by selling them fake gold bars.
“As per the modus operandi, the criminals used to win the trust of people by saying that all the gold has been recovered during digging work and they want to dispose all the stock at much cheaper rates,” Sahu added.
Senior officials of Commissionerate Police informed that fake currency worth nearly Rs 7 lakh, 110 fake gold bars have been recovered from the gang members.
Preliminary investigation reveals that the criminal gang was active in Jharkhand, West Bengal and several parts of Odisha. Earlier, the gang members were arrested in connection with a similar cheating case in Puri in 2012.