FedEx scam: Rajasthan pharmacist held for cheating doctor from Chennai

CHENNAI: Probing a complaint by a city doctor who fell prey to the FedEx scam and lost over Rs 15 lakh to scamsters, Chennai police arrested a 23-year-old man from Rajasthan. He was brought to Chennai on Friday.

The victim, Dr S Ashok Ranjith, had received a phone call in mid-March wherein the caller told the doctor that he was calling from FedEx, Mumbai. He said a parcel sent to Taiwan in the victim’s name contained illegal substances, and he needed to be probed by the Mumbai police.

Soon, another caller took over, claiming to be a Mumbai police officer and threatened Ashok with arrest.

The caller then contacted Ashok through a Skype video call and said the money in the doctor’s bank accounts would be considered as income through illegal means and convinced the doctor to transfer money to the bank accounts mentioned by him so it could be investigated and verified by the Reserve Bank of India.

Believing the conman, the doctor transferred Rs 15.26 lakh in two instalments. Ashok realised he was scammed after sending the money and filed a complaint with the city police.

The East Zone Cyber crime police conducted investigations. They traced the bank accounts used by the accused, which led them to Rajasthan.

A team of five police personnel headed by Inspector Padma Kumari reached Jaipur and arrested the accused, K Vishal Kumar (23), who ran a pharmacy below his first-floor residence.

Police investigations revealed that he had lent his bank accounts to the conmen for a commission. “There was a transaction of over Rs 70 lakh in Vishal Kumar’s bank accounts in just two days,” a police officer said.

He was produced before a magistrate in Jaipur. After a transit warrant, he was brought to the city on Friday. He was produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.