KOCHI: The police have launched a search for two persons who duped an Ernakulam native and his family by exchanged fake diamonds for gold ornaments worth Rs 50 lakh.
The Ernakulam Central police, who registered a case on the complaint of the victim’s daughter, said the duo, Suhail and Shahid Ameen, posed as business partners of a well-known jewellery retail firm and cheated the family.
The complainant said the family had given advertisements on various media platforms about selling a property in Kaloor, Kochi. On April 17, Suhail and Shahid approached her father claiming to be business partners of a Kozhikode-based jewellery retail firm, she said, alleging that the duo met the family on the pretext of purchasing land, won their trust and then brought up the ‘opportunity’ to invest in diamonds. The police said the complainant, who is into interior designing, was first offered a contract to plan the interior of the jewellery chain’s under-construction shop in Dubai.
“The duo informed the complainant’s father about ‘profitable diamond business schemes’ and promised to supply him diamonds for the purpose. On April 18, they came to his office and showed him diamond samples. The diamonds were found to be genuine,” said the officer. “The duo returned to complainant’s father’s officer on April 20 with a portable safe locked with a code. They showed him the diamonds inside and took gold ornaments weighing 90 sovereigns, worth Rs 50 lakh, from him,” said the officer.
“When the duo left, the complainant’s father tried to open the locker with the password given, but failed. The locker was finally cut open. An inspection revealed that the diamonds inside were fake,” said the officer.