Con duo try selling Amaltas seeds as cancer drugs

A Delhi-based woman and a suspected Nigerian national have been arrested for allegedly duping an Arunachal Pradesh-based doctor to the tune of around Rs 28 lakh, on the pretext of selling him some fake herbal seeds – which they named Poka-Yoko Natural – which could purportedly cure cancer.
It later turned out to be crushed seeds of Amaltas (Cassia Fistula) plant, which is most often found almost everywhere in India, police said on Tuesday.

According to the police, the victim — identified as Dr Raja Dodum — met a woman who claimed to be one Bianca Hernandez, later claimed that she was the representative of a foreign pharmaceutical firm and proposed to sell him samples of the life-saving seeds. When the doctor came to Delhi, he ended up meeting one Durga Laxmi. She also told Dr Dodum that there was a person named Edward Spicey, to whom he could sell the herbal seeds at almost thrice the cost price.

The first sample was priced at Rs 60,000 for a 10 gram sachet. The doctor sold Spicey at Rs 1,30,000. He immediately ordered a bulk consignment worth around Rs 21 lakh and sold it off to Spicey on credit. Later it was learnt that Spicey was held by custom officers and if the doctor wanted his money, he would have to pay around Rs 6.80 lakh to free him. He did so but did not receive any money, after which he approached the Delhi Police, said Ravindra Yadav, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime).

After investigation, it emerged that they were all part of a gang. Spicey was identified as one Emmanue Chika (28) and Durga was actually one Anita (40). Another gang member, identified as Pastor Zakaria, is still at large. They reportedly confessed to have duped three to four other doctors before; who are yet to be identified.