Reading the news about Novgorodians who fell for the bait of phone scammers, the question always arose: a scam is a scam, but why not catch the courier at the scene of the money transfer? And such a case was included in the reports of the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs: officers of the Novgorod criminal department detained in St. Petersburg a 30-year-old suspect in a series of fraudulent acts against several elderly Novgorod women.
According to the investigators, the man registered in Chelyabinsk was a courier for an organized group of fraudsters who cheat citizens under the “your relative is in trouble” scheme. His task included meeting the victims in person, receiving funds and certifying them to accomplices’ bank accounts. He keeps a certain percentage for himself as a reward.
According to the police, for a trip from St. Petersburg to Veliky Novgorod, this man used the services of a luxury taxi, paying more than 40 thousand rubles. During the day, he visited 4 addresses, taking over 1.5 million rubles from the victims. In particular, a 66-year-old resident of Novgorod gave him 170 thousand rubles for the treatment of a girl injured in an accident.
During the investigation, the threat officers were able to establish the model and numbers of the taxi whose services the courier used. Already in St. Petersburg, Novgorod operatives realized that the wanted passenger had dropped his passport in the taxi. Thus his identity was established, the apprehension of the suspect was now a matter of technique
At the moment, at the request of the investigator and the decision of the court, he is under arrest. Police are working to identify his accomplices, as well as complicity in other similar crimes.
On these facts, criminal cases have been opened in the Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the city of Veliky Novgorod.
photo of the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Novgorod region