A busy street in Sri Lanka: Maldivian apprehended in Sri Lanka suspected of fraud was set free on bail yesterday. FILE PHOTO
Maldivian apprehended in Sri Lanka suspected of fraud was released on bail yesterday.
Maldivian High Commission in Sri Lanka informed that Mohamed Azmee, who was apprehended upon suspicion of the charges, was resident in Sri Lanka.
“He and a family member visited the high commission yesterday, they have appointed an attorney and is proceeding with the case” He said.
Azmee was apprehended upon suspicion that he took money from people by sending SMS claiming that the recipient had won large sums of money in winnings.
An officer attached to the Maharagama Police precinct who is currently conducting the investigation told Haveeru that the text message lottery scam had been going on for nearly a year which had resulted in several people being victimized by loosing large sums of money.
“They operated by using the names of internationally recognized brands. This time they used the name of a multinational beverage company. We have reason to believe this is an organized racket that is going on and we have currently identified other suspects who are believed to be involved in it. We believe some of the suspects who are Maldivian nationals are yet hiding in Sri Lanka,” he said.
Sri Lankan police started investigating the matter after the victim of the scam had complained that he had received an anonymous text message on his mobile phone stating that he had won 500,000 sterling pounds and in order to receive the winning prize he had to pay a sum of RS51,800 (MVR6,280).
The victim had then deposited RS51,800 to a bank account which had been given to him by his scam artist.
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