A fake Juice application from Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) was used by two thieves to purchase gold jewelry worth Rs 199,670. The jewelry was then entrusted to a third party to be sold to a jeweller. These two men were also caught in the net of Grand Baie’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID). The stolen jewels were subsequently transformed into a gold ingot. This was seized as evidence. It was taken to Assay’s office for appraisal.
The fraud occurred at around 4pm on Monday November 20. A saleswoman at a jewelry store in La Croisette, Grand Baie, reported the incident in a statement made to the Grand Baie police station on Wednesday, November 22. Two individuals had gone into the store to look at some jewelry. Shortly afterwards, they indicated their intention to buy some. After making their selections, they took a dozen pieces of jewelry, including rings, chains, bracelets with precious stones and earrings.
They had led the saleswoman to believe that their boss was going to make the payment via the Juice app. To gain the woman’s trust, one of the two men made a phone call and gave her all the details about the jewelry. The saleswoman contacted the store owner, who informed her that she had received a message from MCB.
After checking, the store owner realized that the message he had received was different from the one he usually received, and sent an e-mail to the MCB. The next day, he received a phone call from his bank informing him that he had been the victim of fraud.
The Grand Bay CID, led by the men of Inspector Dooshan Thakoor, were assigned to the investigation. On December 6, they were able to track down Anson Adrien Vencatasamy, a 26-year-old security guard of no fixed abode. This man was already under arrest by the Flacq CID for another case. Adrien Vencatasamy, who was subjected to intensive questioning, soon confessed to his involvement in the case, with the complicity of Mohammad Sheik Imran Poomun, a 45-year-old driver living in Camp Chapelon, Pailles.
Adrien Vencatasamy had confided to the police that he had given part of the stolen loot to a friend of his, Ahmad Riaz Ally Augraheeta, a supervisor in cité Paul Toureau, Sainte Croix, to be sold there. On December 6, this suspect was arrested and stated that he had sold the jewels to a man named Satish, a jeweller living somewhere in La Tour Koenig, Pointe aux Sables, for the sum of Rs 33,000. On Thursday December 7, Riaz Augraheeta was brought before the Pamplemousses court. A provisional charge of illegal trafficking in stolen goods.
Iran Poomun, who is in custody after being arrested by the Flacq CID, was questioned on Sunday December 10. He confessed to being Adrien Vencatasamy’s accomplice. On Monday December 11, jeweller Satish was arrested and a gold bullion bar seized. The drugs seized as evidence were taken to the Adsu office for safekeeping.
