Gandhinagar, July 10 (IANS) The Gujarat Police’s Cyber Centre of Excellence on Friday arrested seven people for allegedly operating an interstate online fraud and extortion racket that targeted customers who purchased sexual enhancement medicines through social media advertisements, with investigators saying the group may have cheated between 4,000 and 5,000 people across the country.

The department said the operation dismantled a 15-seat call centre in the Vastral area of Ahmedabad and prevented another call centre from becoming operational in Bidhuna town of Uttar Pradesh. Seven accused were arrested during raids at the two locations.

According to the officials, the investigation began after officers received intelligence that advertisements for sexual enhancement medicines were being run on Facebook and Instagram to attract customers from Gujarat and other parts of the country.

The medicines were supplied through India Post and private courier services, with customers making cash-on-delivery payments.

Police alleged that after customers received and paid for the parcels, members of the racket contacted them while impersonating police officers.

They allegedly claimed that the medicines were prohibited drugs, told customers that criminal cases had been registered against them and threatened imminent arrest unless they paid money.

“The callers falsely introduced themselves as officers from local police stations or district Superintendent of Police offices and extorted money through intimidation,” officials said.

Investigators said the group also targeted customers who had not collected the parcels from post offices or courier companies. In such cases, callers allegedly posed as doctors and police officers to pressure customers into accepting delivery.

“If the parcels remained unclaimed, the callers informed customers that an FIR had been lodged against them for ordering prohibited drugs online and demanded payments ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 1 lakh to settle the case,” officials claimed.

Police identified the arrested accused as alleged mastermind and call centre owner Dhirendra Rajawat, 36; Aryan Rawal, 20; Aniruddh Bhadoria, 20; Sumit Diwakar, 20; Devpratapsinh Bhadoria, 20; Devendrasinh Rajawat, 33, from Bidhuna in Uttar Pradesh; and Priya Kurmi, originally from Jaunpur district in Uttar Pradesh, who police said worked as a manager as well as a team leader and closer.

According to investigators, analysis of the seized digital evidence indicated that approximately 4,000 to 5,000 people may have been cheated.

“Details of 14 bank accounts used by the accused were recovered, with financial transactions exceeding Rs 5 crore detected during the investigation,” officials said.

The department also said six complaints linked to these bank accounts had already been registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP), including one from Delhi, two from Rajasthan and three from Uttar Pradesh.

During the raids, officers seized 44 mobile phones, 23 computer CPUs, two laptops, a monitor, three caller ID telephones, three pen drives, five bank passbooks, one cheque book, seven QR codes, a caller transcript, two boxes of sexual enhancement medicines and rubber stamps bearing the names Tanvi Enterprises, Asawani Ayurveda, DR Ayurveda and Ayur Shakti Ayurveda.

Police said the accused generated leads through advertisements on Facebook and Instagram before callers impersonated doctors, healthcare representatives and police personnel, threatening victims with criminal prosecution and imprisonment to force them to transfer money.

Appealing to the public, the Cyber Centre of Excellence urged consumers to verify the authenticity of healthcare, Ayurvedic, cosmetic and beauty products advertised online before making purchases, avoid buying medicines without consulting a doctor, and not rely on claims such as “100% guarantee” or “miraculous results”.

It also advised people never to share banking credentials, OTPs, CVV numbers or UPI PINs with unknown websites or individuals.

–IANS

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