Police personnel arrest gang members.

ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi Police, in collaboration with Ajman Police, arrested a gang of 24 Asians involved in making fraudulent calls to the public.

Brigadier General Omran Ahmed Al Mazrouei, Director of Criminal Investigations Department at Abu Dhabi Police, said the perpetrators vexed their victims with telephone calls and tricked them into getting cash prizes, noting that they demanded their victims transfer telephone recharge cards in order to complete the procedures for receiving the fake prizes.

This incident serves as a complement to two similar cases, which were announced in detail last February and resulted in the arrest of another Asian gang at the time, he said.

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He expressed appreciation for the co-ordination efforts with Ajman Police in scuppering the criminal schemes of the three gangs.

The procedures taken led to the arrest of the gang members, who were running their business from a rented apartment in Ajman. A number of mobile phones, cash money and SIM cards were seized from the apartment.

The police pointed out that several complaints had recently been received from the victims who were targeted randomly by the gang members. The victims had transferred their telephone recharge cards before they discovered that they had fallen victim to fraud.

The police called on the public to avoid responding to scam calls and promptly report such calls by calling the toll-free number 8002626 or send SMS to 2828.

Earlier, Abu Dhabi Police launched an awareness campaign in Arabic, English and Urdu under the banner ‘Be Cautious.’ The campaign was aimed at warning people of telephone and electronic fraud in which perpetrators used both modern and traditional technological methods to lure their victims into getting cash prizes.

The police emphasised their keenness on tightening their grip on fraudsters and curbing their renewed criminal techniques by using advanced precautionary measures.

Participating in the campaign are the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat), Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du) and banks.