Hyderabad: Man places order for 107 iPhones; flees without making payment

A store in Abids’ Jagdish Market, Hyderabad, fell prey to a fraudulent mobile phone order. A customer from Gujarat placed an order for 107 iPhones, valued at Rs 64 lakh, with no intention of making any payment.

Central Zone DCP Sharat Chandra Pawar confirmed the incident stating, “The victim store reported the fraudulent transaction in the first week of December. Believing the order to be genuine, the store dispatched the entire consignment of 107 iPhones to Gujarat. However, upon delivery, the customer absconded without settling the bill.”

The Abids police formed special teams to investigate the matter, leading to the identification of a suspect in the fraud, Nirav Raj. Subsequently, the police recovered 102 brand new iPhones, while the remaining five devices were found to have been retained by the scammers for personal use, informed DCP Pawar.

As the investigation intensified, Nirav Raj was taken into custody for further questioning. Authorities are actively pursuing leads to apprehend the prime accused, Vipul, who remains at large.