Hyderabad: Four men who were cheating gullible people on the pretext of getting them cheaper gold and gadgets with custom clearance by posing as police and media personnel, were nabbed by North Zone team on Wednesday.
Police seized four mobile phones, Press Cards (Telangana TV Chamber of Commerce Hyderabad) and Rs 3.68 lakh cash. The arrested were identified as Muthyala Vijay Kumar, 53, his brother, Muthyala Ravi Kumar, 52, P.N. Ravindra, 57, and Akula Satyanarayana, 52.
Ravi had previously worked as a Customs Clearance Agent and along with his brother Vijay hatched a plan to cheat innocent persons along with Ravindra and Satyanarayana, said the DCP, Commissioner’s Task Force, P. Radha Krishna Rao.
“Vijay identifies himself as a police officer, reporter or RTA official. He then informs them that he has close friends in the customs office and can arrange Gold, Mobiles and much more for cheaper rates. He then forwards their number to his brother, Ravi, who acts as a customs agent and tells them about discounts available,” the official said. The four were handed over to the Begumpet police.
Vijay then collects the amount through agents P.N. Ravindra and A. Satyanarayana or through banks or online transfers,” said the official.
Acting on a tip off, the Commissioner’s Task Force, North Zone team laid a trap and apprehended the four men on Wednesday and handed them over to Begumpet police for further investigation.
