After going through a series of interrogations and evidence collected from three bogus call centres in the Mira Road area, the Thane police are now probing if the accused have any connection with the two Indians who were arrested in the US last year for posing as IRS officials.
The New Jersey police had arrested Akash Satish Patel (32) and Nikita Natvarlal Patel (25) last year for posing as IRS officials and bilking over $15,000 from US nationals in 32 states. The duo was directed by the counterparts in India. They kept a cut and sent back the money to India from where calls were routed to threaten the US nationals. Victims' information and other details were forwarded to Patels, who later withdrew the money via online channels.
Both were found guilty on charges of theft by deception. The US authorities also shared the details of their modus operandi with their Indian counterparts, which might have led to the busting of the Mira Road scam.
"The script used by the two Indians based in the US, who were arrested and found guilty on various charges, was the as used at the Mira Road call centres," said a source from the Thane Crime Branch.
"We are probing if they were given the leads to collect and withdraw money by the Mira Road handlers, as the calls were made from centres based in India," said the official.
"The masterminds of the scam would be behind the bars as we are on their trail. We have to verify the roles of the arrested accused. They have been remanded in to police custody till October 10," said investigation officer ACP Mukund Hatote. "We are probing if the two Indians arrested by the US officials in Leonia were connected to these call centres," he added.
Scamsters worked corporate style
Locals were shocked when more than 200 cops swooped down on the swanky seven-storey building office in Penkarpada, which housed over 100 persons on each floor.
The building, which was sealed by the Thane police department after the raid, had different call centres functioning in night shifts to con the Americans. New entrants were handed over a six-page script and sent to the top floor for training and accent modification. The main floors were interconnected for call transfer to senior employees.
"Makeshift tables were made to counter storage issues while data and numbers were given to employees based on the quality of calls they made, which was monitored by floor managers," said a Crime Branch official.
