The City Police arrested seven of an 18-member gang who were relieving people of their money with false promises of giving them gold at cheap rates. A gold biscuit and cash, all valued at Rs.6.75 lakh were recovered from the accused.
Giving details to the media on Wednesday, Police Commissioner J. Purnachandra Rao said that the modus operandi of the gang was to target buyers by calling them on their phones and offer gold at cheap rates making false claims that they were getting it through “Customs Department”. The 18-member gang, based in Hyderabad, has some local members and some mediators who fix the deal between the buyer and seller.
The ‘buyers' would be asked to come to a secret place with the money. They would be shown fake gold kept in a box and even before negotiations begin, some gang members posing as police arrive on the scene and the gang members flee with the cash. They victims generally do not complain as they feared being grilled by the police and having to run around police stations for trying to purchase ‘stolen gold'.
Deal struck
Three middlemen from Hyderabad struck a deal with the complainant G. Srinivas of Hyderabad for supplying customs cleared gold. Srinivas and his friend Trivedi were received at the Sai Baba temple at Railway New Colony by P. Dwaraka alias Bharathi on June 13. The woman verified the cash brought by the party on the instructions of the prime accused Karri Kanaka Raju alias Stephen Raju over the phone.
The party was directed to an isolated place near the Port Kalyana Mandapam at Kailasapuram. Gold-coated copper metal bars and one original gold biscuit, kept in a steel box with lock, were taken to the place by another gang member Savada Babu Reddy. The complaint and his friend were attacked with chilli powder and knives and Rs.16 lakh taken by them to purchase the gold was taken away by the culprits.
Mr. Purnchandra Rao said that Inspectors Ch. Vivekananda (Central Crime Station) and P.M. Naidu of IV Town Police Station under the supervision of Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Madhusudhana Rao apprehended seven members of the gang on Wednesday and recovered Rs.4.45 lakh cash, a gold biscuit valued at Rs.2.30 lakh and four knives.
The Police Commissioner said that any other victims cheated by such gangs could approach the police and lodge a complaint.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crimes) J. Brahmananda Reddy was present at the media conference.
