An international gang, with links in Pakistan and Afghanistan, which used to dupe people by luring them with claims of lottery wins worth crores has been busted, Delhi Police said today.
Based on a tip-off three members of the gang, identified as Azad Aalam, Zafar Ali and Shahnawaz Anwar were arrested from Sarita Vihar on Wednesday, the police said.
Police seized Rs 1.6 lakh in cash, 77 ATM cards and eight mobile phones from them. "The phones show several incoming and missed calls from Pakistani numbers," Mandeep Singh Randhawa, DCP (South-East), said.
The members of the gang had "active support" from their associates based in Pakistan and Afghanistan, who police said would make the phone calls to lure victims.
On being questioned, the suspects were unable to explain the reason behind them possessing the cash, ATM cards and the Pakistani calls. They later confessed everything, police claimed.
Azad told the investigators that he joined the racket on the insistence of one Rehman, a resident of Jamia Nagar.
"Rehman told Azad about his links in Pakistan and Gulf Countries. The gang made calls to Indians informing them about lottery money worth crores of rupees won by them. The victims were directed to deposit a certain amount of the win as clearance or processing charges," Randhawa said.
Few locals were recruited for the purpose of withdrawing the money from ATMs. Zafar and Shahnawaz were among those.
