Tamil Nadu's biggest bank card fraudster arrested in Bengaluru

Bengaluru City Police arrested Divyan Tamil Nadu’s most-wanted bank card fraudster He is suspected to have swindled over Rs 100 crore Divyan’s accomplices Nawaz Shariff and Nadeem Shariff were also taken into custody by Central Crime Branch

Bengaluru City Police on July 14, 2017, arrested Divyan alias Dinesh alias Pulikesi, a Sri Lankan national who is Tamil Nadu’s most-wanted bank card fraudster. 

In 2012, then Tamil Nadu Governor Konijeti Rosaiah had issued an exclusive detention order to nab the foreign national, suspected to have swindled over Rs 100 crore.

Divyan was hiding in Jalahalli, say the police. He apparently gave away his original cellphone number while purchasing a TV set using a clone card. 

The Times of India reported that Divyan’s accomplices Nawaz Shariff, 22, and Nadeem Shariff, 30, were taken into custody by a Central Crime Branch (CCB) team. 270 dummy credit and debit cards, 114 cloned cards, 36 EDC machines and other equipment used for the fraud were found at his apartment which was taken for a monthly rent of Rs 50,000.

Divyan has been on the run for five years. Divyan fled Tamil Nadu in November 2012 after a detention order was issued in his name. The police say that apart from Nawaz and Nadeem 10 more are involved in the racket. 

Divyan, a native of Jaffna, came to Chennai in 2007 and teamed up with fraudster and Sri Lankan national Umesh alias Shorty. Together they were involved in over 2,000 offences and had swindled over Rs 2 crore.