Four Gujarat men scam Tamil Nadu goldsmiths, sell sand worth Rs 70 lakh as 'gold'

Palarivattom police arrested four men on Friday for scamming Tamil Nadu-based goldsmiths out of Rs 68 lakh by selling them sand, falsely claiming it contained gold dust, TOI reported.

Who Are the Accused?

The arrested men, all from Surat, Gujarat, were identified as:

• Sandeep Hasmukh Bhai, 37
• Vipul Manji Bhai, 43
• Dharmesh Bhai, 38
• Kripesh Bhai, 35

The victims, goldsmiths from Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, were tricked into believing that the sand came from a factory where gold ornaments are made. The incident took place in January this year.

How Did the Scam Work?

The accused took the goldsmiths to a rented building on North Janatha Road in Palarivattom, where they showed them 500 sacks of sand. To convince them, they allowed the victims to take a 5kg sample for testing.

The fraudsters had set up a room with a weighing scale placed on a specially designed table. Unknown to the goldsmiths, there was a hidden hole beneath the scale. One of the scammers hid under the table and used a syringe-like device to inject a gold solution into the sand while it was being weighed.

When the goldsmiths processed the sample, they found traces of gold and believed the entire stock contained valuable metal. Trusting the test results, they bought five tonnes of sand, paying Rs 50 lakh in cash and giving two cheques for the remaining amount.

How Were They Caught?

After realising the fraud, the goldsmiths reported the matter to the Palarivattom police. Officers examined CCTV footage and identified the suspects. The accused were later found hiding within the city and arrested.

According to the police, the same group has been involved in financial fraud cases registered at Sendamangalam police station in Tamil Nadu and Ernakulam North police station in Kerala.

Inputs from TOI