Mumbai Crime: Tour and travel firm scam 80 car owners to smuggle liquor

Accused Madhukar Jha and Michel Vegas is wanted in the case

A scam by a tours and travels company that cheated more than 80 people has been busted following a complaint registered at the Amboli police station in December 2018. Investigations revealed that the victims were duped by Aradhana Enterprises Tours and Travels Company in a car renting racket.

The company would sign car rent contracts with the vehicle owners assuring them of handsome returns, and use these vehicles for smuggling liquor into Gujarat, a dry state. So far, three FIRs have been registered at the Amboli police station while more than 50 customers have approached the police. A possible link with the upcoming general elections, in this case, is also being probed.

A commerce graduate, Madhukar Jha, 35, along with two of his agents, has been arrested in the case while the police are still looking for Jha's aide Michel Vegas. According to sources, the estimated value of all the vehicles swindled by the company is more than R7 crore and "around nine cars have been recovered so far by the police."

Agent Waseem had helped swindle Puri's Mahindra Xylo car

A police officer said that the travel company would place advertisements on online marketplaces like OLX and Just Dial, following which car owners would approach them. The company would then make a three-month agreement with them and even pay some customers the initial amount. They would later tell these car owners that their vehicle was on a trip to Gujarat and it would return soon, but the car would never return.

"Most of these vehicles are used for liquor smuggling in Gujarat and if the vehicle was caught, the company had nothing to do with it. Instead, the car owner was caught," the police added.

One of the complainants, Puran Giri, had entered an agreement with Aradhana Enterprises over his new Mahindra Xylo on December 18. "The company promised me R35,000 per month. When I figured that this was a fraud, I went to their office but found it locked and their phones were switched off," he said.

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