Man duped by luring into 'investment' in frog blood business

Police today arrested a man for allegedly duping a city resident by persuading him to invest in the business of supplying 'frog blood' to a UK-based firm.

Abdul Kadir Ibrahim Kucchi (40) was arrested from Panvel this morning under IPC section 420 (cheating), senior inspector Nitin Thakre of the Crime Branch said.

According to complainant Ninad Telgote, he received an email from Kucchi some days ago, which said there was a great demand for "blue blood of frogs" from a pharmaceutical company in the UK.

If he were to invest money in this business, he would get great returns, the email promised.

When Telgote expressed his willingness, he was asked to deposit money in a bank account. He deposited Rs 3.66 lakh in total.

He realised that it was a scam when the accused stopped responding to his emails.

After he approached the Kalwa police, the Crime Branch started a probe and arrested Kucchi from Panvel near Navi Mumbai today, inspector Thakre said.

Police suspect that Kucchi was part of a gang which has cheated people in various states using the same method. Further probe is on.