Mumbai: 40-year-old man dupes more than 10 people posing as customs officer

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A 40-year-old Bhandup resident has been arrested by Unit 2 of the Mumbai Crime Branch for allegedly duping more than 10 people posing as customs officer. The accused, identified as Yogesh Ahire, promised victims to provide seized vehicles by customs at throwaway prices.

The case was registered by Kherwadi police station based on a complaint by Amol Chavan, who is a police constable posted at Kurla police station. Chavan is also a victim and was duped while he was posted as security at Matoshree, the residence of former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, in 2020. He said in his statement that the accused was introduced to him as a customs officer by one of his colleagues, Ganesh Sarvade.

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According to the Crime Branch, it was Sarvade who told Chavan while introducing accused Ahire that he was a customs officer and could help in providing two-wheelers, cars, and scrap material at throwaway prices. The remand application reads: "The complainant met the accused in a hotel to finalise a deal for KIA Seltos car. After discussion, he agreed to pay Rs 15 lakh to purchase the car and paid Rs 2 lakh in advance."

The officials said that after finalising details for KIA Seltos car, the complainant told many of his friends about the fake customs officer and at least 10 people contacted him for different vehicles. "At least Rs 50 lakh was paid to the accused," an officer said.

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The accused never arranged a four-wheeler. He only made available a few two-wheelers and returned the money of a few victims after they started troubling him. "He used to take money from other customers and use it to pay those troubling him to continue the chain of his ponzi scheme," the officer added.

Constable Chavan, a complainant in this case, kept following up with the accused about his car, but the accused lured him into another scheme in 2021 by saying that he had gotten hold of some scrap which was part of iron bars and crane spare parts worth Rs 2 crore and he needed money to purchase the same. "The complainant took a loan and sold jewellery of Rs 30 lakh to pay the accused and got posted cheques from him as security which was later dishonoured," an officer from unit 2 said.

Chavan later approached Kherwadi police to get an FIR registered. The accused, Ahire, was arrested and sent to police custody till August 30, as cops had found that at least three similar FIRs were registered against him in different police stations in Maharashtra. "My client was falsely framed in the case. There is no basis in the allegations made by the complainant," said Adv. Ajay Dubey, lawyer of the accused.