Hyderabad: Ivory Coast national held for cheating

The police seized duplicate Indian currency with a face value of Rs 10 lakh in denomination of Rs 500

Hyderabad: An Ivory Coast national who duped several persons by diverting their attention by assuring to double their currency notes was caught by the Rachakonda Special Operations Team (SOT) on Monday.

The police seized duplicate Indian currency with a face value of Rs. 10 lakh in denomination of Rs. 500, paper bundles, syringes, photocopying machine and a mobile phone.

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The man Zon Guey Rostand (46), a resident of Anandnagar, Rajendranagar, came to India from Ivory Coast in 2021, on a business visa. Although his visa expired in January 2022, he is staying illegally in the city, DCP L B Nagar, B Sai Sri, said.

To earn easy money, the suspect started cheating public by convincing them that he could double the Indian currency notes using a trick.

“To convince that he has the ability to double the currency notes, Rostand used to conceal two currency notes in his sleeve. Then, he would collect a Rs. 500 currency note from the victim and keep it between two white papers and apply iodine and other chemical powders. Later, he would dip the white papers into a mug of water and by diverting the victim’s attention, take out the original currency note. Later, he would produce the two hidden currency notes and give them to the victim,” officials said.

Convinced that Rostand has the ability to double the currency notes, victims would give him more money. He cheated several persons in a similar manner and collected original currency notes from them. A month ago, he cheated some persons of Rs. 25 lakh at Madhapur, officials said.