Pune: An elderly retired employee was defrauded of ₹1,40,02,342 after being falsely told that a parcel sent in his name contained drugs and that he would be imprisoned. The incident occurred in Nigdi.

A 54-year-old citizen filed a complaint at Nigdi Police Station on Sunday (July 28). The police have registered a case against the unknown users of mobile number 11-8133141865, Skype ID luw 54l262rrv8s099874, luw. 165160lr0l011s8r, and Kotak Bank account holders 0946332418, 2846025735, 8947640303, PNB Bank account holder 6631002100005514, and Federal Bank account holder 13320100102463.

During the investigation, Sandeep Shankarrao Hanchate (40, resident of Kondhwa, Pune) was identified as a suspect and has been arrested. The crime took place between April 2 and April 20, 2024, in Nigdi.

According to the police, the accused conspired and called the complainant, posing as representatives from FedEx and Mumbai Cyber Crime Cell.

They claimed that a parcel sent in the complainant’s name from Mumbai to Bangkok, Thailand, had been seized by the customs department, containing 140 grams of MDMA, an illegal drug.

They further intimidated the complainant by stating that he had an account with HDFC Bank used for illegal transactions, which could lead to his arrest.

To avoid imprisonment, the complainant was coerced into transferring a total of ₹1,40,02,342 into various bank accounts under the guise of verifying the account as per RBI regulations, clearing mutual funds, and recovering all paid amounts.

Recently, cybercriminals had defrauded a retired official from Kothrud of ₹93 lakh by claiming drugs were found in a courier parcel. The 68-year-old victim has filed a complaint at the Kothrud police station, and a case has been registered against unidentified cybercriminals.