Navi Mumbai Police Bust Fake Call Centre in Mahape, Detain 13

The Navi Mumbai Police Cyber Cell has busted a fake international call centre operating out of Mahape MIDC that allegedly targeted United States citizens through a cyber fraud scheme. Thirteen people, including a manager, three team leaders, and nine call agents, were detained during the operation.

The raid was conducted at around 11 pm on August 13 at Unit No. 24 in Mahape MBP, where the facility was allegedly running under the name TradeExpert Services. Acting on a tip-off, a police team guided by Assistant Commissioner of Police Vishal Hire and Senior Police Inspector Vishal Patil raided the premises.

According to police, the accused targeted Apple users in the United States by sending fake messages claiming that $499 had been deducted from their bank accounts. The messages directed recipients to contact a specified phone number if they had not authorised the transaction. When victims called, the calls were routed to the Mahape call centre through an application.

During the raid, officers found nine agents communicating with US citizens on computers while four others supervised the floor. The agents allegedly introduced themselves as Apple technical support representatives and claimed that a virus called "Chompi" had infected the victims' phones, putting their bank balances at risk.

The calls were subsequently transferred to team leaders posing as bank officials using American aliases. These supervisors allegedly frightened victims with warnings of financial loss and persuaded them to transfer money into cryptocurrency wallets or purchase 16-digit Apple gift cards.

The detained accused have been identified as manager and partner Parth Bharatbhai Patel, 27; team leaders Jabeen Jacob Balumal alias John, 28, Naim Harun Sheikh alias Tom, 46, and Sameer Farid Sheikh, 31; alongside call agents Dennis Pinto, Dev Dhotre, Ashish Dulakedi, Darshan Rawat, Karan D’Souza, Govind Mandero, Arun Acharya, Rizwan Sheikh, and Rehan Khan.

Police seized 5,301 USDT cryptocurrency valued at approximately Rs 5,03,595, six mobile phones, 255 Vodafone-Idea SIM cards, two SIM boxes, two servers, two CPUs, one laptop, nine cheque books, and printed English call scripts.

The alleged masterminds behind the operation—identified as Mustafa Khan, his wife Zareen, and associates Purvank Shrimali alias KR, Iggy, and Sheikh Bhai—remain absconding. Police have launched a search to trace them as investigations continue into the full financial scale of the fraud.