Remember Mohit Goel who sold mobile phone for Rs 251 mobile? Goel arrested for duping dry fruits traders of Rs 200 crore

Mohit Goel, the founder of Ringing Bells – the company that offered the world’s cheapest smartphone ‘Freedom 251’- has been arrested by the Noida Police.

Goel has been arrested for allegedly defrauding traders dealing in dry fruits to the tune of Rs 200 crore. According to the police, Goel, along with five other people, were running a dry fruit business under a company named Dubai Dry Fruits and Spices Hub.

They had set up the company’s office in Noida Sector 62. The company invited police action after around 40 complaints of fraud were filed against it by traders Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and a few other states.

Noida police team found two accused Mohit Goel and Omprakash Jaangid and arrested them.Goel was also a partner in Noida-based Ringing Bells company which had shot to fame in 2017 after it announced smartphones for Rs 251 only apiece

The Noida Police has impounded two cars, including an Audi, from the accused men who were held for fraud on Sunday by officials of Sector 58 police station.

The company, Dubai Dry Fruits and Spices Hub'', had a frontal business of import and export of fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) with a plush corporate office in the industrial hub of Sector 62 in Noida.

They would procure goods from suppliers at rates higher than normal market price initially and make timely payment, in a bid to make good impression on their target. They would later place bulk orders and make 30 to 40 per cent of payment in advance, further assuring suppliers of their credibility.

When fraudulent traders approached them for money, they resorted to gangsters and bouncers. They also harassed the traders by filing false charges against them.

According to the police, this was the fourth such firm floated by the Goel and his associates after the previous three got shut following criminal cases against them.

Complaints of fraud against Dubai Dry Fruits have been made by people hailing from not only Uttar Pradesh but Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka and some other south Indian states where FIRs are lodged against it.

The police have seized 60 kgs of dry fruits, three mobile phones, some electronic items and documents from the accused persons and impounded an Audi and a Toyota Innova from them, according to a statement.