3 arrested for duping man of Rs 13.5 lakh on pretext of trade in jatoba pods

The woman gave him a business proposal stating that her company used to buy jatoba pods from India through one of her colleagues who has now left the organisation, police said. She proposed him that she can introduce him to her company as the supplier of jatoba pods in India and if the deal succeeds, they can make good profit together, the officer said.

Three persons were arrested for allegedly cheating a man of Rs 13.5 lakh on the pretext of helping him make a huge profit through trade-in jatoba pods, police said on Wednesday. The accused have been identified as Perumal Stella (25), Chingerem Kalu (27), and Akinola Timothy Oluwasevan, all residents of Bengaluru, they said.

Giving details of the case, the police said the man filed a complaint at Khyala police station after he realizes that he has been duped.

According to the complaint, the man came across a woman who introduced herself as Riona Cahil, a resident of Austin, Texas, the USA on a dating app in March.

They became friends and she informed him that she works for a company, called Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), they said. The woman gave him a business proposal stating that her company used to buy jatoba pods from India through one of her colleagues who has now left the organization, police said. She allured him by saying that she used to buy jatoba seeds at USD 300-350 per 100 grams and sell them for an amount of USD 500 per sachet, a senior police officer said. She proposed to him that she can introduce him to her company as the supplier of jatoba pods in India and if the deal succeeds, they can make a good profit together, the officer said. Later, she introduced him to one Ankitha as a supplier of jatoba pods in Bengaluru. She gave him Ankitha's number. Ankitha quoted him a price of Rs 22,500 per 100 gm sachet and the complainant agreed with the proposal, police said. The complainant received a call from a person who introduced himself as Dr. Marshall Flint, the procurement head of PhRMA Austin, Texas and after their allurement, the complainant made a payment of Rs 13,50,000 for 60 sachets, the officer said. ''During the investigation, the accused were identified through technical assistance and a team was sent to Bengaluru. On the early morning of Friday, two raids were conducted, and the accused were arrested," Deputy Commissioner of Police (west) Urvija Goel said. Three laptops, 21 mobile phones, and 24 SIM cards were recovered from their possession, police added.