Mastermind Behind International Flight Ticket Fraud Gang Arrested in Delhi

The main kingpin of a gang that defrauded foreign nationals by offering flight tickets through software has been arrested by the Crime Branch's Unit 8 team in Delhi. Inspector Laxmikant Salunkhe of Crime Branch Unit 8 reported that the arrested individual is Anshuman Ashok Joshi, also known as Abhishek Joshi (35). With Joshi's arrest, the number of people arrested in this case has risen to 14.

Members of the gang gained the trust of Canadian and other foreign nationals by operating a call centre and pretending to be a travel agency. They contacted these nationals through internet calls, WhatsApp calls, and TextNow app calls. The accused showed the victims that their desired flight tickets were on hold and used software to make it appear as though the victims were booking tickets online.

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The gang then had the victims transfer money online under the pretext of issuing these on-hold tickets. After receiving the money, they defrauded the citizens. In this way, the accused swindled approximately Rs 4 crore over a period of 18 days, from July 1, 2023, to July 18, 2023. The Crime Branch's Unit 8 team had busted this gang last year on August 10 and arrested 13 accused, including call centre operator Mridul Joshi.

During the interrogation of the arrested suspects, the involvement of the gang's leader, Anshuman Joshi, along with Satish, Himanshu, and other associates, came to light. The Crime Branch filed charge sheets against the 13 arrested suspects in court and continued further investigations. Anshuman Joshi, who was wanted in this case, was arrested by the Delhi Crime Branch on August 3 and was reported to be in judicial custody in Tihar Jail.

On August 18, the Crime Branch took Joshi into custody and formally arrested him. According to the police, four similar cases have been registered against Joshi, the owner of the call centre and the main mastermind, in Delhi, Mumbai's VP Road Police Station, and two other locations.

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