Delhi airport: Iranian woman held for duping US national of USD 700

Delhi airport: A 52-year-old Iranian woman was arrested for allegedly cheating a 70-year-old US citizen of USD 700 on the pretext of showing American currency to her child at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, police said on Thursday.

Fatemah Akbari, along with her husband, Mojtaba Zolfaghari and their child, allegedly approached Baldev Singh and swapped the currency.

Akbari, a resident of Tehran, was nabbed from a guest house in south Delhi’s Saket, while her husband remains at large, the police said.

The couple has been living in India allegedly under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) status.

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“The incident took place on the night of June 20 near the departure gate no 7 of Terminal-3 at IGI Airport. The complainant, Baldev Singh, a native of Punjab now settled in the US, alleged that while he was unloading his luggage from an airport shuttle, he was approached by the accused couple and a child, who engaged him in a casual conversation,” Additional Commissioner of Police (IGI Airport) Usha Rangnani said in a statement.

The couple allegedly requested Singh show a Rupee note to their child. Singh complied and handed over a Rs 50 note. They then asked him to display some US dollars. Trusting them, Singh took out nine USD 100 bills to show. The couple allegedly took the notes under the pretence of showing them to their child and returned a similar-looking bundle.

However, Singh later discovered that his original notes had been swapped. The bundle returned to him allegedly contained genuine USD 100 bills on the top and bottom, but between them were five Rs 500 Indian currency notes.

The police registered an FIR and formed multiple teams to nab the couple. The investigation involved scanning the CCTV footage from multiple airport cameras, tracing the suspects’ route and identifying the vehicle used in the crime, the police said.

The car’s registration was traced to a woman named Beena, posted with the CRPF in Vikaspuri. Further investigation revealed that her husband, Param Singh, had leased the car to the Iranian family in February.

Although the contact number provided was found switched off, the GPS tracking showed that the vehicle was in Saket.

A raid was conducted at a guest house in Saket, where Akbari was apprehended while her husband managed to escape.

“Fatemah confessed to the crime and revealed that she and her husband targeted elderly or foreign travellers on the pretext of interacting with their child. The couple operated primarily in areas like Connaught Place, Lajpat Nagar, Khan Market, and IGI Airport,” the Additional CP said.

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Akbari also disclosed that her husband was allegedly involved in similar cases previously registered at various police stations, including Lajpat Nagar, RK Puram, Vasant Kunj and even in Gurugram.

Efforts are ongoing to locate Akbari’s husband while the investigation into the case continues, the police said.