The Santacruz Police have arrested five men for allegedly looting two foreign nationals on the pretext of being custom officials. Police said that the incident occurred on February 11, when the accused forced themselves in the house of two Thailand nationals, claiming they are the custom officers and looted them of their valuables like iPhones and iPad, along with cash worth thousands of rupees.
According to the statement given by the complainant, he had come to India in August 2019 and was subsequently arrested by the customs officials at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for drugs smuggling. He was released a month later and had been staying at Juhu Koliwada since, with his paramour, who was also booked for entering the country on a wrong visa.
On February 11, a few men were banging the complainant's door while calling out his name in the wee hours, and when he didn't answer, they barged in. One of the three men identified himself as a policeman, while the others claimed to be customs officials. They said that due to the ongoing investigation of the smuggling case, they had to confiscate his passport and asked him to produce the case paper. While the complainant obliged, the men seized 2 iPhones, one iPad, cash and a few documents valued at ₹3.33 lakh.
The men then asked the complainant to come out and visit the police station. The men then left the spot and asked him to wait at the police station, but never showed up. Upon realizing he was duped, the complainant approached Santacruz Police and lodged a complaint. Soon after the case was lodged, police scrutinised the CCTV camera footage and apprehended the five men, while one is still on the run.
