Master conman arrested

A master conman who swindled millions of dirhams from unsuspecting victims, who ended in prison for issuing dud cheques, has finally been nabbed.

Dubai Police recently arrested one of the three suspected masterminds, G. Baghwan, an Indian national, and some of his cohorts, believed to have ripped off dozens of unwitting victims of at least Dh20 million. Police have not yet determined the full extent of the damage, as more victims are coming forward.

The police suspect that this group is part of criminal web spanning Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

According to investigators, Baghwan provided financial assistance through his brokerage firm.

"He would ask for commission in return for issuing Letters of Credit (LC) and Bank Guarantees to his victims," said Brig. Sharafuddin Mohammed Hussain Assistant Chief of Dubai Police for Criminal Investigation Affairs at Dubai Police.

Up to now, the police have unearthed forged LCs amounting to one billion dirhams from international banks, which the accused had issued for his victims, said Brig. Sharafuddin.

A team from Dubai Police Preventive Security Department called "Blockage" has been working on the case for the past six months.

The team studied the criminal database and found that a number of cases that had been thrown out for lack of sufficient evidence by the Public Prosecution, involved the same culprit and two of his cohorts, said Colonel Khamis Matar Al Mazeina, Head of the Dubai Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The cases were mainly complaints about bounced cheques by the accused. Warning bells started ringing.

Further investigations by financial experts revealed that there was a scam, and soon, the police were able to patch together the criminal network's modus operandi.