Two held in Delhi for liquor home delivery scam

Two men were arrested for allegedly cheating over thousand people across the country on the pretext of home delivery of liquor, police said on Sunday.

The accused were identified as Huzaifah (25) from Sangam Vihar, and Lado Sarai-resident Hafiz Tufail (35), they said.

The matter came to light on July 24 after Karan Palta, one of the victims of the scam, lodged a police complaint. He stated that he came across a social media advertisement on May 22 that claimed to provide home delivery of liquor during the lockdown, a senior police officer said.

He contacted the mobile numbers provided in the advertisement. The person at the other end asked him to transfer Rs 4,000 for two bottles of liquor. When the liquor was not delivered, he called again and asked for a refund, police said.

The accused sent a UPI link and asked him to scan the Quick Response (QR) code for receiving the money. When he scanned the QR code, an amount of Rs 20,000 was deducted from his e-wallet, the officer said.

"During investigation, police identified Huzaifah and arrested him on Friday from Saket," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) R P Meena said.

According to the bank statement of Huzaifah, Rs 35 lakh was deposited in his account from February 20 to September 9, the DCP said.

Huzaifah said he had opened multiple bank accounts. The gang leader, Naseer, used to deposit money online into his accounts and take cash from him, police said.

He said Naseer lives in Bharatpur in Rajasthan and was introduced to him by Tufail. On his instance, Tufail was also apprehended, Meena said.

Tufail said Naseer is his relative and he used to transfer money online in his bank accounts and charged a commission from Naseer.

The accused have cheated around 1,500 people in the last one year. Five e-wallet accounts and three bank accounts have been frozen, police said, adding efforts are on to nab Naseer.