More Fraud Deals Surface
ore allegations of a fraud racket perpetrated by a syndicate is currently under investigation by Police have surfaced.
After Fiji Sun broke the report yesterday, a company general manager who was issued with two fake cheques totalling $68,040 for the purchase of truck parts shared details about the professional work of the suspects involved in the alleged fraud probe.
MIt is now believed that at least 10 big companies in the country have either lost or were about to lose items to this new crime syndicate who have thrived using, what may be sophisticated machines, to print fake company and bank cheques, LPO’s and remittance advices from commercial banks. General Manager of Jack’s Autoworld, Farzaad Azam, yesterday said a call came through their land line at Ravouvou St on December 1, and the person, who said he was from a reputable company involved with new road works in the Namaka – Martintar area in Nadi had asked for different truck parts totalling more than $92,000. The goods were paid for using two alleged fake company cheques – one for $56,540 and the other $11,500, both totalling $68,040. “They told us they would pay the balance, $24,800 with another cheque,” Mr Azam said.
“We said we had the parts and then they asked for our Vodafone number and started communicating with us through mobile. “After two hours, we received another call asking us to deliver the
parts to a yard in Naisoso, Nadi.” The Fiji Sun visited the yard. Locked inside the yard were old trucks, a loader, two shipping containers and fuel storage facilities. The yard is believed to have been vacant for more than two years.
It is also believed that those involved in the alleged fraud deal had cut off the old locks to the yard and fitted their own lock so that it looked genuine when Jack’s Autoworld arrived with the parts.
“When the parts arrived at Naisoso the company officials were met there by a man who asked them to leave the parts outside the container because another person had the keys for the container locks and would arrive later,” Mr Azam said.
The goods were later moved to the premises of a reputable company in Nadi where, following a tip-off to Police, all the parts from Jack’s Autoworld were recovered from containers located at the back of the company director’s house.
It is also believed that tyres from one of Fiji’s biggest motor vehicle and spare parts company were also recovered during that raid by Police. Another company also confirmed yesterday that they too were duped, possibly by the same group of people, after they were allegedly issued with a fake Ministry of Health LPO (local purchase order) for the purchase of 40 tyres worth $28,000. Luckily for the company, quick action by staff members in the Western Division and Police in Namaka, Nadi, led to the recovery of the tyres from two different locations in Nadi. Industrial Supplies Manager Rohitesh Choy said they had received a call from a landline number in September this year from a person claiming to be working for the Ministry of Health.
“The order had the Ministry’s name on the top and included a stamp,” Mr Choy said, adding the man said the order was for the Ministry of Health in Labasa.
The company set about arranging the tyres and this was loaded on to a truck to be brought to the Western Division from Suva. “During this time we took our invoice to the Ministry in Suva who told us the order was not theirs and no such order was raised,” Mr Choy said.
“I immediately got a staff member in the West to locate the truck, which we did. Using the driver’s mobile phone we managed to get from the person as to who ordered the tyres.” Mr Choy said the driver told them he was on his way to Votualevu in Nadi.
Staff members of Industrial, with assistance from Namaka Police, located the truck at an empty lot in Votualevu where 14 tyres were recovered.
Meanwhile, the person who came to pick up the tyres was asked as to the location of the other tyres and they were directed to a home on a feeder road off the Nadi Back Road. “Here we recovered the remainder of the tyres,” Mr Choy said.
It is believed Police have also recovered other items from the back of this two-flat home and unconfirmed reports said the stolen items were worth more than $1 million.
“Luckily we recovered all our tyres, which was then taken to the Namaka Police Station,” Mr Choy said.
Police have started their investigations into this alleged fraud racket.