New Delhi: The IGI Airport Police team has arrested a 52-year-old Iranian national for duping a US citizen of $700 in a clever currency
swap scheme.
The police were informed about the incident through a complaint registered at the IGI Airport Police Station.
The accused has been identified as Fatemah Akbari (52), wife of Mijtaba resident of Tehran, Iran. According to the police, the accused was apprehended from a guest house in Saket following a detailed investigation launched after a complaint was filed by 70-year-old Baldev Singh, a US citizen originally from Punjab.
The incident occurred on the night of June 20, when Singh was preparing to board his return flight to the United States. While unloading luggage near Departure Gate No. 7, he was approached by an Iranian couple and their child.
The couple, posing as fellow travelers en route to Dubai, engaged Singh in a friendly conversation and asked to see Indian and US currency notes, purportedly to show their child.
Trusting them, Singh handed over a ₹50 note and later showed nine $100 bills from his bag.
The suspects took the dollars under the pretext of showing them to the child and seemingly returned them.
Singh later realised $700 had been stolen using a currency swap trick. CCTV and GPS led police to Saket, where accused Fatemah was arrested; her husband escaped. She confessed, citing financial distress, and revealed they targeted foreigners in busy areas. Police are tracing her husband and probing similar frauds.