Cops arrest call centre scam kingpin who 'duped' Americans

The police has arrested Sagar Thakkar alias 'Shaggy,' the alleged kingpin of a scam duping thousands of Americans of over USD 300 million by reaching them via call centres posing as US officials to extort money from them.
Thakkar was arrested late last night at the Mumbai airport following his return from Dubai and was produced today before a court which remanded him in police custody till April 13, said Thane police commissioner Param Bir Singh.
Singh told reporters at press conference that Thakkar, who was living in Dubai, decided to return to India after the police initiated the process to issue Red Corner Notice (RCN) against him.

He seemed to have a thorough knowledge of computers and related technical know-how as well as that of the Indian and the US legal systems, said the commissioner, who interrogated Thakkar briefly before he was taken to the court.
Sagar was on the run since unearthing of the scam last year.
The police said the racket which he ran since 2013 through at least half a dozen call centres in Thane, targeted at least 15,000 US-based tax payers with Indian tele-callers calling them up, posing as US Internal Revenue Service or immigration officials and demanding payments for non-existent debts.

The US Justice Department has charged 61 such people or entities linked to the scam. The US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson had earlier said these call centres stole more than USD 300 million from their victims.

The scam came to light last year when police raided call centres at Mira Road in Thane district on the night of October 4-5. Subsequently, police teams raided and shut down five call centres in Ahmedabad which were a part of the racket.
Over 70 people, mostly directors and key persons linked to these call centres, were arrested and 700 employees were detained.
During interrogation of the arrested directors, the police got Thakkar's name as the alleged mastermind of the racket, but before the police could reach him, he had fled the country on October 5 itself.
The police subsequently issued a LOC (Look Out Circular) against Thakkar him on October 7.

Investigators say Thakkar, 24 led a lavish lifestyle and was accompanied by around a dozen bouncers. He was a regular visitor at posh late night parties in Mumbai and was also fond of high-end cars.
He began working at the age of 16 with his 'mentor' Jagdish Kanani, who had worked in the call centres abroad.
Kanani, 33, who was arrested from suburban Borivali last October had trained him, they said.
Thane police had also seized Thakkar's Audi car worth Rs 2.5 crore from Ahmedabad in October last year. It was allegedly purchased from a leading cricketer in May.