The Hindu : New Delhi News : E-ticketing racket busted

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 05, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

E-ticketing racket busted

Staff Reporter

Gang bought air tickets using credit cards of several banks

NEW DELHI: Five persons, including a Congo national, have been arrested by the Crime Branch of the Delhi police in connection with an e-ticketing racket that had allegedly cheated Spice Jet and Kingfisher airlines of over Rs.50 lakh.

The accused — Vipin Dahal, Bhuwan Koirala, Kalendo Ngoy, Darshan Singh, Jasbir Singh — had spread their net both in and outside India. “The gang used to buy airline tickets online using credit card details that were mostly procured from different parts of India and Nigeria. They then sold these tickets to unsuspecting customers at cheaper rates and made easy money. It was only when the airlines tried to realise the fare money through the credit card that the fraud came to light,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Madhup Tewari.

The accused used credit cards details of several multinational banks such as American Express, Visa Card, Master Card, Delta Card, Disc Card and Switch Card. Banks such as ICICI, State Bank of India, HDFC and ABM Amro were also targeted.

The fraud came to light when Spice Jet and Kingfisher Airlines lodged a complaint with the Inter-State Cell Crime Branch at Chankyapuri about the misuse of credit card details for booking tickets online.

The police then arrested Vipin and Bhuwan near Ashoka Hotel acting on a tip-off. Later their three accomplices were also arrested at their instance.

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