Gaonkaari
Panaji: In a major crackdown on cyber fraud, the Cyber Crime Police Station in Goa conducted a late-night raid at a rented bungalow in Karmali, Tiswadi, busting an illegal call centre and arresting seven accused involved in an international cheating racket.
The operation was carried out between 11:30 PM on April 13 and 4:00 AM on April 14 under the leadership of SP Cyber Crime Raju Raut Dessai and his team. During the raid, police seized laptops, mobile phones, and other digital equipment collectively valued at approximately ₹23 lakh.
Accused Identified
The arrested individuals have been identified as:
- Jay Vijay Acharya (Malad East, Mumbai)
- Yogesh Mali (Ahmedabad, Gujarat)
- Rishab Dipakkumar Shah (Gandhinagar, Gujarat)
- Ashutosh Yogesh Pratap (Ahmedabad, Gujarat)
- Parth Bharabhai Thakkar (Ahmedabad City, Gujarat)
- Adrian Kinsten Mariasevan (Mumbai, Maharashtra)
- Nilesh Satish Singh (Nagpur, Maharashtra)
Modus Operandi
According to police, the accused were operating a fraudulent call centre by impersonating agents of a loan company under the name “Payday.” They targeted citizens in the United States, luring them with promises of instant loans.
Victims were allegedly coerced into paying large sums through gift cards such as Sephora, Macy’s, Green Dot MoneyPak, Apple Gift Cards, Razer Gold, and Xbox vouchers under the false pretext of loan processing fees.
Police Action
The raid team included PI Deepak Pednekar, PSI Navin Naik, HC Yogesh Khandeparkar, HC Virendra Wadkar, PC Ibrahim Karol, PC Mayur Rane, LPC Sneha Chari, PC Akshay Verlekar, PC Yash Kole, and PC Sidramaya Math.
Police confirmed that further arrests are likely as the investigation continues under PI Deepak Pednekar.
Investigation Ongoing
Authorities are probing the scale of the operation, including financial transactions and possible links to a larger international cyber fraud network.
Further details are awaited.
