In Uttar Pradesh, man procures nuts for pharma companies, cheated of 1.7 crore

NOIDA: A 38-year-old man was arrested from Basti district in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday for allegedly cheating a Greater Noida businessman to the tune of Rs 1.68 crore in the name of purchasing Kayuirvin nuts for a Canada-based pharmaceutical company. The police have recovered Rs 30 lakh from his possession.
The arrested person has been identified as Durga Prasad Mishra alias Rajeet Mishra. The police said he and his accomplices acted as mediators.
“Mishra has studied only until Class 3 but has been engaged in many online frauds,” said police.
The case came to light after Rajeev Kumar Gupta, a resident of Omega 2, filed a complaint in this regard in February 2021.
“I came in contact with Sara Benjamin on Facebook for a supply of Kayuirvin nuts for her company located in Brampton, Canada. She informed me that she is the director of the company and her colleagues—Stephen Pecitti, the purchase officer and Lablang, senior vice president—will be available by phone and email. She further informed me that her representative, Dr Morris Coldbun, will come to India to check our sample and then give the order for the supply of material. After the order is ready, Coldbun will collect the material and make payment,” Gupta told police.
Benjamin further advised the victim to purchase material from one Shanti Sharma.
“On October 27, 2018, Coldbun met us at a hotel in Aerocity and took samples. After our sample was passed, we got a purchase order for 150kg of Kayuirvin nuts. Then, I contacted Sharma and made payments of Rs 1.60 crore to different people as an advance for the material,” the complaint further read.
Suddenly, one more company contacted Gupta through CJ Simon and representative, Nelson Milliband. They also ordered the supply of the same nuts and suggested purchasing material from one Shweta Kanakia.
“I contacted her for supply and paid Rs 7.58 lakh in advance for the material,” he added.
However, despite waiting for more than two years and contacting several people, no one from either of the pharmaceutical companies made the payment. Gupta then filed a complaint at the Cybercrime police station.
During the investigation, it was found that a gang used Facebook to network with gullible people associated with pharmaceutical production. Following an extensive probe of over two years, the police finally managed to nab Mishra.
During questioning, Mishra told police that he posed as a middleman.
“Kayuirvin nuts are expensive and are used in the manufacturing of some medicines. After Mishra procured the product, he would sell it to the Canada-based pharmaceutical company at a higher margin,” said Reeta Yadav, in charge of the Cybercrime police station.
The arrested person also revealed that in 2018, he had also floated a company, DP Enterprises, in Gujarat’s Ankleshwar along with his two accomplices—Sachin alias Lallan Pandey and Santosh Tiwari.
“He had opened a current bank account for this company, into which he used to transfer the money that was earned by fraudulent means. So far, transactions worth Rs 30 lakh have been found in this account from different sources,” Yadav added.
Police have booked Mishra under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 467, 468 and 471 (all related to forgery of documents) and under provisions of the Information Technology (IT) Act.
"He was produced in a district court on Thursday, which sent him to judicial custody. We are also trying to trace his other accomplices," the police officer told TOI.