: Two Iranian nationals have been arrested for allegedly duping people of money in Karnataka by diverting their attention, police said on Sunday.
Saeed Rostami (26) and Saber Hossein Eghbalzadeh (35), both natives of Tehran, had struck at three automobile dealers in Mangaluru, Mysuru and Bengaluru, the police said.
The duo also allegedly stole money from two shops in Bantwal and Udupi, they said.
Luck ran out for the two when they went to another firm in Bengaluru and approached the cashier seeking change for Rs 2,000, they said.
As the cashier opened the drawer to look for the change, one of the Iranians dropped a Rs 2,000 note on the floor and pretended to search for it, the police said.
When the cashier's attention was drawn towards the dropped note, the other Iranian quickly took away Rs 44,000 from the drawer, they said.
The entire incident was caught on camera and the duo was arrested later, they added.