Mumbai Crime Branch Busts 3 Fake Call Centers, 36 Arrested

In a major crackdown, the Crime Branch's Unit 10 and 12 have arrested a total of 36 individuals after conducting raids at three call centers. The arrested individuals are accused of defrauding people by offering to improve CIBIL scores to secure loans and selling banned drugs to foreign nationals. The police have reported that there are approximately 3,000 complaints against these individuals.

Crime Branch DCP Vishal Thakur said that as soon as they got information that people are being duped through call centers, the police verified these call centers and then it was found that these call centers are being run illegally. After confirmation, they conducted raids. Unit 10 officers raided two call centers named Gate Pharmacy LLP and All Win Info Media Pvt. Ltd., located within the Oshiwara police jurisdiction.

The employees at these centers were selling banned drugs like Viagra, Tramadol, Cialis, and Levitra to foreign nationals. They made calls using VOIP technology and spoke in foreign accents. The scammers received payments in dollars under the guise of shipping parcels of the drugs to foreign buyers. DCP Vishal Thakur also informed that none of the arrested individuals had any government-approved license to sell the drugs.

Additionally, Unit 12 of the Crime Branch raided another illegal call center operating within the jurisdiction of Aarey Police Station. The accused targeted individuals who were unable to secure loans due to poor CIBIL scores. They would call these individuals, promising to fix their CIBIL scores and help them get loans in exchange for an online payment of ₹1,475. After receiving the money, the scammers stopped responding to their victims’ calls.

A police officer revealed that the amounts taken from the victims were small, which is why many did not file complaints. However, recently, a woman approached the Crime Branch and lodged a complaint. She claimed that the scammers had taken money from her on three separate occasions, promising to fix her CIBIL score and secure a loan, but they failed to deliver on their promises.

The Crime Branch has arrested 36 individuals in total, including three call center owners, 32 operators (among whom are eight women), and an accountant. The police have seized 16 computers, 35 mobile phones, laptops, hard disks, and a router from the call centers.

DCP Vishal Thakur added that the accused had been running the fake call centers for the past three years. One of the arrested individuals had previously worked at another call center before becoming involved in the scam.