Mumbai News

Mumbai: Rs 12 crore transfer to Canada, fake cops & a web of deceit – Times of India

MUMBAI: Ill-gotten ends up being ill spent. Hardened cops may not ordinarily subscribe to such philosophy, but an “unusually strange” case riddled with twists and turns has made a few police officers agree to the old axiom. Nine persons have been arrested.
It began with a temple trustee wanting to transfer Rs 12 crore to Canada through hawala for which he hired two anagadias — those who carry cash physically. The angadiaslugged it to their Malad premises to count it on Wednesday. They had hired a group of six who were to carry it abroad. These men were to reach Malad to pick up the cash. But, in an unusual turn, six “cops” barged in, claiming it was a raid, and took away the money.
It turns out that these fake cops were also from a rival group of cash couriers who masqueraded as cops, said an officer from Vile Parle police station. “The fake cops had got a tip about the cash deal through a mole who is yet to be identified,,” said an officer.
Later, when the team of six genuine courier men reached Malad to pick up the cash, the angadias told them about the “cops who raided” and took away the cash.
After some discussion between the angadias and the genuine cash carriers, and some description of the “raiding cops”, it emerged that the “cops” were from a rival group of cash carriers who had got wind of the deal. The genuine couriers agreed to facilitate a meeting between the angadias and the fake cops.
A meeting was arranged among the two angadias, the fake cops and the genuine six cash carriers at a hotel in Vile Parle. The angadias, who had lost Rs 12 crore belonging to their client (temple trustee), begged the fake cops to return at least half the money. “Amid the discussion, things went awry and in another turn of events, even the genuine cash carriers did a U-turn. They teamed up with the fake cops and agreed to split the money among themselves, leaving the two angadias in the lurch” said another officer.
So, the six genuine couriers and the six fake cops split Rs 12 crore, each one got Rs 1 crore. That is when the two angadias went to the police.
The genuine courier men were nabbed first. They, in turn, led them to the fake cops who were indeed from a rival group of cash carriers. The nine were identified as Dinesh Dureja, Gafar Mohammed, Jafar Mohammed, Dinesh Pathare, Arif Sayyed, Premchand Jaiswal, Nilesh Binender, Pravin Jain and Sagir Khan. Tax officials have been informed.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/rs-12cr-transfer-to-canada-fake-cops-a-web-of-deceit/articleshow/81130194.cms