4 held in Naogaon over selling fake platinum coins

Four members of an organized fraud syndicate involved in selling counterfeit "platinum coins" got arrested in Naogaon.

The arrests were made during day-long drives across various parts of the town on Thursday.

The arrests were confirmed on Friday morning by Naogoan Superintendent of Police (SP) Mohammad Tariqul Islam. 

The apprehended are Md. Uzzal, 47,  from Dhaka's Mohammadpur, Al Mamun, 47, from Nalchhity upazila of Jhalakathi, Delowar, 48,  from Fatullah area of Narayanganj, Abu Sayeed, 34, from Daskandi of Naogaon.

According to SP Tariqul Islam, the operation was initiated after two victims reported that the group had extorted several lakh takas from them by promising rare, high-value platinum coins.

On the day of the arrest, the scammers demanded additional money before the final handover.

"After the victims approached me, I directed DB team to track the suspects. By analyzing CCTV footage, we first apprehended three suspects from a local hotel," the SP stated.

Following the initial arrests, the police conducted a subsequent drive at another hotel to capture the ringleader, Abu Sayeed.

Two fake coins were later recovered from Sayeed's residence based on his confession.

Legal proceedings against the four suspects are currently underway, said the police official.

KKH/TZ