Pune: Illegal Call Centre Busted in Lonavala, 20 Arrested For Cheating US, Canadian Citizens
Lonavala, 16th October 2026: Pune Rural Police have busted an illegal call centre operating from a villa in Lonavala that allegedly defrauded citizens in the US, Canada and other countries by posing as representatives of reputed companies. Twenty people have been arrested in connection with the case.
The call centre was operating from Dev Villa in Omega Society, within the Nangargaon area of Lonavala. Police seized laptops, mobile phones, vehicles and cash worth a total of Rs 36.41 lakh during the operation.
According to police, the accused had jointly rented the villa and set up the illegal call centre to contact overseas citizens through the internet. They allegedly used various applications on laptops and mobile phones to make calls and created fake documents and identity cards bearing the names of reputed companies, including Amazon and Google, to pose as their representatives.
The accused allegedly lured victims with various schemes and obtained their personal and bank account details to commit financial fraud.
The investigation has identified Irfan Abdul Gafur Shaikh, the alleged owner of the call centre, as the suspected mastermind. The operation was reportedly run with the assistance of Mohammed Faiz alias Nazish Arif Shaikh.
Police suspect that money extorted from foreign citizens was converted into Indian currency through hawala channels and cryptocurrency before being used for the accused’s financial gain.
Investigators also found that some victims were threatened with claims that narcotics had been found in their parcels and were allegedly coerced into paying money. The accused also allegedly obtained credit and ATM card details to carry out financial fraud.
A case has been registered against the 20 accused at the Lonavala City police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to cheating, forgery, extortion and other offences, as well as provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Indian Telegraph Act.
Most of the accused are aged between 19 and 26. While most are residents of Malvani in Mumbai’s Malad area, three are from Badlapur in Thane district, police said.
Police inspector Mahesh Vidhate is investigating the case.
