Gang running currency exchange scam, cyber fraud network from Ghaziabad flat busted; 6 held

Ghaziabad, Sep 12 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has busted a gang allegedly involved in duping people under the pretext of exchanging currency notes for higher denominations and providing mule accounts for cyber fraud, arresting six members and recovering Rs 25.6 lakh in cash, officials said on Friday.

The arrests were made late Thursday night from a flat in Gaur Siddhartham Society under Kavi Nagar police station limits in Ghaziabad, they said.

A currency counting machine, eight mobile phones, a country-made pistol, three live cartridges, fake Aadhaar cards and a Tata Safari SUV were also seized from the gang, the STF said in a statement.

Those arrested have been identified as Shubham Raj alias Baba, Pradeep Kumar, Dheeraj Mishra, Sonu Kumar, Amarjeet Kumar and Anurag, it said.

The STF said the gang would lure victims by promising them more cash in exchange for their high-value notes and call them to flats rented under fake documents in Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida. Once the victims brought the money, the accused would use a trick involving partially genuine bundles of notes, with only the top layer containing real currency and the rest filled with paper, to cheat them.

The gang also allegedly provided mule bank accounts for cyber fraud transactions, including those linked to loan apps and gaming apps, the STF said, adding that details of nearly 100 bank accounts linked to them have been recovered. More than 25 cyber fraud complaints amounting to over Rs 1.09 crore have been traced to these accounts, it added.

During interrogation, prime accused Shubham Raj told police he learned the trick from another fraudster in Bihar before forming his own gang in Delhi in 2023. He also revealed that some bank employees allegedly helped the gang by providing accounts for fraudulent transactions in exchange for monetary benefits, officials said.

A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Arms Act at Kavi Nagar police station, and efforts are on to trace other gang members who are still at large, the STF added. PTI KIS ZMN