A Behala couple lost ₹2 crore to an online fraud racket that allegedly blackmailed them saying a consignment of drugs in the husband’s name had been intercepted by the customs department and they were about to be arrested by Mumbai police.

Police said they had arrested four members of the gang and been able to recover ₹50 lakh.

A woman from Behala had lodged a complaint in November last year alleging that
an unknown person had contacted her family through Skype, a video call and messaging app.

The person informed the complainant that a lot of drugs had been found booked in her husband’s name with an international courier company, which had been intercepted by the customs department in Mumbai.

“To convince the complainant about the authenticity of their claims, the fraudsters had mentioned the man’s name correctly and also revealed his Aadhaar card details. They were threatened that they would be arrested by Mumbai police if they did not pay the money,” said a police officer.

Scared, the couple shelled out Rs 2 crore. They transferred the amount to the bank accounts mentioned by the fraudsters.

Later, when they realised the fraud, they reported it to the police.

During investigation, the police tracked down the bank accounts where the money had been transferred. However, most of the accounts were found to have been opened with fake documents.

“After a prolonged investigation, we arrested four members of the gang on Monday. They were arrested from different parts of Calcutta,” said a police officer.

All of those arrested had different roles in the alleged fraud.

“Some would forge documents that would later be used to open bank accounts, while others would contact persons who would agree to open the mule accounts in their names,” said the officer.

The four have been charged under IPC sections of cheating, fraud, forgery and criminal conspiracy.

The officer said: “₹50 lakh has been recovered and the process of returning it to the complainant has been started through court.”