The ‘mastermind’ suspected of being behind a prolific cellphone rip-off conning Britons out of their hard-earned money has gone into hiding after being slammed by his household, Mail On-line can reveal.
Ahmad Sarfraz was the boss on the centre of one among Pakistan‘s most prolific fraud factories focusing on British households, in line with the BBC.
MailOnline has been contained in the crumbling constructing and places of work of Madina Tower within the Pakistani Punjab capital the place the nation’s anti-corruption officers have raided the decision centres stated to have been utilized by Sarfraz.
The alleged fraudster, accused of fleecing unsuspecting Britons in a name centre rip-off, was concerned in a fist struggle with a cousin and enterprise accomplice after the main focus fell on Sarfraz.
The flash businessman, who’s in his twenties and drives round Lahore in a jeep along with his engaging girlfriend by his aspect, is accused of a cell phone rip-off by pretending to be from 02.
Ahmad Sarfraz, the ‘mastermind’ suspected of being behind a prolific cellphone rip-off conning Britons out of their hard-earned money has gone into hiding
The Madina Towers constructing the place the rip-off name centre is allegedly primarily based, which was fully shut off after being contacted by the BBC
MailOnline has been contained in the crumbling constructing and places of work of Sarfraz’s former empire
Staff in his rip-off name centre allegedly made calls to UK cellphone numbers and posed as customer support employees from the cell phone supplier
Staff in his rip-off name centre allegedly made calls to UK cellphone numbers and posed as customer support employees from the cell phone supplier.
The scammers gained entry to clients’ accounts so they may order cell phones price hundreds of kilos after which promote on.
The allegations towards Sarfraz led to a fist struggle between him and a cousin who was arrested after which freed with out cost.
The cousin, Qasim Naseer, was a enterprise accomplice and was angered at his detention and lunged at Sarfraz accusing him of destroying their enterprise.
Their workplace at Quantity 508 had been raided by Pakistan’s Federal Investigations Company officers and so they broke the primary gate to the places of work after employees bought scared and refused to permit them in.
The officers searched the places of work and left sealing the doorways barring any re-entry by employees.
When Mr Naseer was launched, he discovered the places of work closed and employees nowhere to be seen and was concerned in a violent confrontation with the suspected fraudster.
A supply informed Mail On-line: ‘After a couple of days when Qasim got here again from FIA custody, individuals inside the opposite places of work of the plaza noticed a really severe bodily struggle between Qasim and Ahmad.
‘Qasim was heard shouting and blaming Ahmad of destroying and defaming the enterprise by indulging in frauds.
MailOnline went contained in the constructing and photographed a wood door which has a safety bar over it that has been locked
A poster was discovered hung up on the wall on one of many flooring within the constructing
The tower additionally homes on the floor flooring retailers promoting curtains material and equipment
The smashed entrance door of the workplace which police broke of their raid
The home windows into Sarfraz’s former workplace which have been sealed off
Sarfraz (pictured) has now gone into hiding after being confronted
Cash Mail raised the alarm over the rip-off in April, however a brand new investigation run by Rip-off Interceptors has lifted the lid on the unscrupulous individuals they are saying are behind the con
‘The FIA officers, who’re Authorities cops working towards white-collar crime, had locked up the places of work and sealed them off.’
Madina Tower homes many scrupulous companies concerned in work like offering authorized recommendation and arranging visas for college students and 250 retailers and clothes shops. It additionally has residential flooring.
The tower is located at a congested enterprise place space of Lahore at Ferozpur Highway and owned by Haji Liaqat who could be very near the management of Nawaz Sharif’s political celebration Muslim League (N).
The tower additionally homes on the floor flooring retailers promoting curtains material and equipment.
On the primary flooring are furnishings retailers and above within the six-floor constructing are places of work and household flats.
Different authentic companies in Madina Tower admired Sarfraz’s operations, however have been unaware of the frauds suspected of going down.
‘Earlier than this raid, virtually all the opposite occupants of the fifth flooring of the tower have been actually very impressed by Sarfraz and his crew.
‘This was as a result of all of them appeared very glad and good cash earners’ the constructing supply stated.
However the administration of the constructing, which stands at 1200ft excessive, informed MailOnline that nobody aside from Sarfraz’s dozen or so staffers may enter their name centre.
However it’s unlikely that Sarfraz will probably be returning there because the administration of the tower has been requested to return the safety cost supplied by his enterprise.
The supply added: ‘Sarfraz was residing a really luxurious life and he wore very costly garments, a uncommon watch, had an costly cellphone and a wise 4×Four automotive.
‘He was not an everyday customer to his workplace. A couple of times in per week he used to return to the workplace and now we predict he might have additionally labored from his dwelling or elsewhere.’
Extra doorways are pictured with steel safety bars throughout them within the constructing
The tower is located at a congested enterprise place space of Lahore at Ferozpur Highway and owned by Haji Liaqat
An commercial poster for a job is plastered on one of many partitions of the constructing
Sarfraz disappeared after the BBC’s fraud-busting present Rip-off Interceptors tracked him down – and confronted him over the cellphone. He denied the allegations
It’s thought the suspected conman might have fled to Dubai and gone into hiding
BBC investigators watched remotely as Sarfraz reportedly tried to cowl his tracks by altering the identify and picture of his pretend O2 on-line profile
Madina Tower is is located at a congested enterprise place space of Lahore, Pakistan, at Ferozpur Highway
It’s thought the suspected conman might have fled to Dubai and gone into hiding.
Sarfraz disappeared after the BBC’s fraud-busting present Rip-off Interceptors tracked him down – and confronted him over the cellphone. He denied the allegations.
Footage confirmed BBC investigators telling him: ‘Why are you pretending to be from O2 and scamming individuals from the UK?
‘Why are you pretending to be from the large cell phone corporations if you’re nothing to do with them?
‘You’re mendacity and you’re scamming individuals and you’ve got been rumbled’.
Investigators watched remotely as scammers allegedly tried to cowl their tracks by altering the identify and picture of the pretend O2 on-line profile.
However the BBC crew didn’t again down, with presenter Rav Wilding saying: ‘Why are you making an attempt to signal out, Ahmad? We all know you’ve got been breaking the regulation. Why are you scamming individuals out of cash?’
A distorted voice on the opposite aspect of the road informed Wilding he’d bought the ‘improper quantity,’ however Sarfraz was informed ‘this isn’t the improper quantity, that is the best quantity’.
By way of a colleague who speaks Punjabi, investigators stated they then overheard a panicked Sarfraz telling somebody within the background: ‘I don’t perceive how they bought my quantity although’.
While Sarfraz denied the BBC’s allegations, the broadcaster stated it was clear their name had shaken him and his enterprise.
The busy and lively name centre was fully shut off following the confrontation and the enterprise is believed to have stopped buying and selling – in the meanwhile a minimum of.
Cash Mail had raised the alarm over the rip-off in April, however a brand new investigation by Rip-off Interceptors lifted the lid on the unscrupulous individuals they are saying are behind the con.
With the assistance of hacker Jim Browning, who works undercover to make use of his know-how expertise, Rip-off Interceptors was capable of break into Sarfraz’s operations and hearken to the Lahore centre’s cellphone calls, following their actions for 9 weeks.
Its findings present a unprecedented perception into simply how these alleged criminals function.
Official fraud knowledge, despatched to the Authorities by trade physique UK Finance, reveals that 17 computer of all scams start with a cellphone name or textual content — and the losses are monumental.
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