This is an archive article published on September 21, 2018

Andheri fake call centres: Mira Road resident bought data of US citizens, say police

Shahu (35), the third person to be arrested, not only purchased the data of the US nationals, but also allegedly converted gift cards taken from the Americans into cash.

2 min readMumbaiSep 21, 2018 02:02 AM IST First published on: Sep 21, 2018 at 01:59 AM IST

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The police are now trying to find those who helped Shahu convert the gift cards into cash. (Representational Image)

The Mumbai Police investigation into two fake call centres at Andheri, which were busted by the Crime Branch on September 7, has found that the data of US nationals, who were allegedly cheated, was purchased online by Mira Road-based Bipin Shahu.

Shahu (35), the third person to be arrested, not only purchased the data of the US nationals, but also allegedly converted gift cards taken from the Americans into cash. The police are now trying to find those who helped Shahu convert the gift cards into cash.

Earlier, David Alfonso, believed to be the owner of the main call centre Xfinity, and Sandeep Yadav, have been arrested in connection with the case.

During their interrogation, Shahu’s name cropped up. A senior officer said, “Shahu would convert the gift cards that the fraudsters took from US nationals and got them exchanged for cash. It has also come to light that Shahu, through his contacts, had purchased the details of US nationals from someone online. We are tracing that link.”

The police have, however, not yet been able to arrest Aarti Saxena, who is believed to be a part owner of the two call centres. The police are also trying to trace the Jaguar car that Saxena and Alfonso are believed to have purchased out of the proceeds of the crime. “She has left the city. We have certain leads on where she is and should arrest her soon,” an officer said.

Based on a tip-off, the Crime Branch had on September 7 raided the two call centres located on the third floor of a building in Andheri (West). They found 39 people allegedly making fraudulent phone calls to US nationals.