Kolkata Police bust fake international call centre, main accused among 10 arrested

Kolkata, Sep 17 (IANS) The Kolkata Police on Wednesday unearthed a fake international call centre racket and arrested ten persons, including the prime accused, officials said.

The police recovered more than Rs 10 lakh in cash, several mobile phones, and two cars from the accused, and launched an investigation into the racket as well as its operations.

The police also arrested the main accused, Javed Khan, during raids on the gang’s dens following the complaints.

A police officer said the fraudsters had set up fake call centres at several locations in Kolkata, from where they would call American citizens posing as representatives of an international financial technology company. They lured victims with false promises of technical support or money transfers.

“Many foreigners fell prey to the fraud of the gang. After receiving a complaint, we began an investigation and on Wednesday morning carried out raids at several locations across the city. Ten persons were arrested from two flats, including the prime accused Javed Khan,” the officer said.

The police recovered a large quantity of gold, 10 mobile phones, eight laptops, a router, and ten watches of different companies from their places, besides more than Rs 10 lakh in cash.

The police also seized three books with financial transaction details of the gang, and two cars -- a Skoda Slavia and a Mahindra XUV, allegedly owned by the accused.

The investigators are also trying to identify other people linked to the call centre racket.

“We are examining whether a larger gang is involved. More details will emerge once we secure the custody of the arrested persons,” the officer said.

The arrested accused will be produced in a city court later in the day. We will seek their custody for further investigation into the racket," said the officer.

--IANS

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