Mumbai Police have arrested a husband-wife duo for allegedly cheating eight people, including a cloth trader, of around ₹6.71 crore in the Borivali area by luring them with promises of high returns from an import-export licence services business.
The accused have been identified as Siddharth Khushal Poladia and his wife Tejal Siddharth Poladia. Following registration of a case of cheating and criminal breach of trust, the Kasturba Marg Police arrested both, and they are currently in police custody. During interrogation, the accused have claimed that the invested money was diverted into drugs, a statement which is now being verified by the police.
According to the police, the complainant Hiren Shah, a resident of Borivali, runs a children’s clothing business along with his relatives Chirag Mahendra Shah, Sachin Shah, and Minesh Shah. Other associates in their business circle include cloth traders Santosh Shukla, Nilesh Pandey, Hardik Lapasia, and Kartik Lapasia.
The accused couple, who lived in the same housing society, operated a private firm named Plabita International Private Limited, claiming to provide import-export licence services. They frequently discussed their business with society members and claimed to be earning substantial profits. They persuaded others to invest, assuring higher returns than their existing businesses.
Initially, Hiren Shah’s wife invested ₹5 lakh and received regular monthly returns, which helped the accused gain trust. Encouraged by this, between April 2021 and May 2025, Hiren Shah and his wife invested ₹1.4 crore (₹40 lakh via RTGS and ₹1 crore in cash).
Based on Shah’s recommendation, his relatives and other acquaintances also invested large sums. Chirag Shah invested ₹73 lakh, Sachin Shah ₹85 lakh, Minesh Shah ₹76 lakh, Kartik Lapasia ₹6 lakh, while Santosh Shukla and Nilesh Pandey jointly invested ₹50 lakh, along with ₹1.2 crore in cash—taking the total investment by all victims to ₹6.71 crore.
The accused paid monthly returns for a few months, but stopped payments after August 2025. When confronted, they kept assuring repayment but failed to return both the principal and returns. When investors began visiting their residence to demand money, the couple allegedly threatened them, claiming the funds had been invested in drugs and would not be returned.
Police investigation revealed that multiple people were lured with promises of high returns, but none received their money back. After the fraud came to light, the victims approached Kasturba Marg Police, who registered an FIR and arrested the accused.
The duo was produced before a court, which remanded them to police custody. Police suspect that the fraud amount could be higher than ₹6.71 crore and have appealed to other potential victims to come forward and contact Kasturba Marg Police.