CHENNAI: Chennai city police arrested five people - two African nationals and three from Bengaluru - for allegedly swindling money using a fake website of a popular hospital. The fraudsters had posed as organ donors and extorted money from the people who were waiting for organ donations.
The special team of police were involved in a dramatic chase on the streets of Bengaluru as the African nationals tried to flee when they learnt that the Chennai police were trying to nab them. The accused have been identified as Jeremia I Ovbiose (50) from Nigeria and J Olivia (25) from Uganda. The other three are J Monica (56) from Bengaluru, D Ram Badur Reang (31) and I Erom Jenson Singh (21) from Manipur and staying in Bengaluru.
“A hospital in the city learnt that some patients who were waiting for organ donors came across a fake hospital website. Not knowing the authenticity of the website, they contacted the numbers given where fraudsters claimed to provide organs for a price,” said Sibi Chakravarthy, joint commissioner of police, South.
The fraudsters posed as medical experts and received money in various bank accounts. The Indians who were arrested opened bank accounts with fake names and used the cards to withdraw money to hand it over to the Africans. “The Africans had collected in-depth details for each organ that can be donated,” said Chakravarthy.
The fraudsters received up to `5 crore for kidney and lung donations, said the police. The police said the gang were involved in other frauds as well. The police seized mobile phones, bank accounts, ATM cards, laptops and hard drives for the accused.