Ahmedabad: The Airport police recently arrested two individuals accused of operating an illegal call centre that allegedly defrauded American citizens by promising fake loans.

Acting on a tip-off about a call centre being run from a residential apartment in Hansol, police raided the premises and detained the two men. The accused were reportedly using software to send messages to US citizens, claiming their loan applications had been approved. Later, after gaining victims’ trust, the accused asked them to buy gift vouchers worth between $100 and $500 from a well-known American retail company, which they then converted into Indian currency using angadia (informal courier) networks.

Officials said an examination of their laptops and mobile phones revealed evidence that they were indeed running an illegal call centre. A case has been registered under BNS sections 316(2), 319(2), 318(4), and 61, along with relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act. DeshGujarat