Mumbai, Jul 8 (PTI) Mumbai Police busted a gang of robbers who used to target customers by inviting them to a 'massage parlour' at a hotel and arrested seven of them two hours after they targeted a 45-year-old diamond broker, an official said on Saturday.

According to police, the main accused Nilesh Saroj (24) used to operate a massage parlour in Mumbai. He teamed up with others as he had access to the data of customers.

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On Friday evening, members of the gang contacted a diamond broker saying a new massage parlour has been opened at a hotel in Vakola.

When the broker entered the premises of the 'massage parlour', he was threatened with a countrymade pistol and made to pay Rs 95,000 by transferring Rs 85,000 via phone payment and Rs 10,000 through cash, the official added.

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After the broker lodged a complaint, police formed a team and arrested seven persons, including five from suburban Andheri and two others from the hotel in Vakola, within two hours of the incident, he said.

Police said two of the seven accused are staffers of the hotel where the gang used to invite customers.

Of the seven accused, four hail from Uttar Pradesh, two others are residents of Mumbai and another one is from Nepal.

A countrymade pistol, three live cartridges, nine mobile phones and Rs 10,000 were recovered by the police from the spot.

Preliminary investigation suggested that the gang was involved in at least five incidents wherein they targeted customers using a similar modus operandi, the official added.

Further investigation is underway.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)