Delhi: Two men arrested in fake interstate dollar exchange racket

DCP (Crime Branch) Vikram Singh said Sunday, “The gang members would first visit shops and purchase items using genuine US dollars, then create a ruse by asking shopkeepers if they knew anyone who could exchange dollars for Indian rupees.”

The DCP said the gang used fake SIM cards to communicate with potential victims. During the exchange, the accused would show real dollars as bait but secretly hand over bags filled with bundles of paper. “After each successful scam, the accused would destroy their phones and SIM cards, and leave the area for a few days to avoid detection,” the officer said.

On receiving information about the gang’s activities, a Crime Branch team, led by Inspector Gurmeet Singh and supervised by ACP Rohitash Singh, launched an investigation.

On November 16, police said the team received intelligence regarding two key suspects, Neeraj alias Raju, and Karan alias Rahul. “In August, Neeraj and Karan duped a young man of Rs 2 lakh in Sonia Vihar and executed a similar scam in September in the same area, cheating an elderly man of Rs 1 lakh,” the DCP said.

The duo was arrested from Anjali Vihar in Ghaziabad’s Loni district. During questioning, they admitted to their involvement, said police.

DCP Singh said the duo has a history of criminal activities, including drug offenses and robbery.

“Karan has been previously involved in four cases under the NDPS Act, burglary, Arms Act, while his associate Neeraj has been previously involved in six cases of the NDPS Act, robbery, Goonda Act, burglary, Arms Act. They both served time in jail,” the officer said.