Beware of money extortion by fake 'customs' officers

NEW DELHI: Every day, several phone calls were being received at the Customs office that "the Customs officers are demanding money to clear parcel and couriers". When the matter was brought to the notice of senior officers, an investigation into the matter revealed the fraudsters are using names and letterheads of various senior officials to dupe people over clearing the parcels from abroad, in New Delhi's IGI Airport.

A complaint in this regard was filed by Vinod Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Customs, IGI Airport, alleging that online frauds are going on in the name of the Chief Commissioner of Customs (Delhi Zone) and other Customs officers.

Instances have come to notice where people have been cheated by unscrupulous elements.

During the course of the investigation, on September 6, an alleged bank account holder Shelly Achhumi, 41, a resident of Mahavir Enclave, New Delhi, a permanent resident of Nagaland, was traced and later arrested.

She had provided her bank account for 8 per cent commission to other co-accused Christian Anthony Maduneme alias Chris, 32, a Nigerian national residing in Noida, adjoining the national capital.

On sustained interrogation, Shelly revealed that she handed over the details of account numbers and SIM cards to Chris — who was arrested later.

The accused used to influence the mindset of the victims emotionally, on the pretext of marriage or friendship.

In one such case, an accused contacted the victim through a matrimonial site and collected their mobile number, Facebook ID, WhatsApp number, etc. (IANS)

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