Thane, Apr 28 (PTI) A taxi driver was cheated of Rs 17 lakh by unidentified persons who asked him to pay "charges" in order to get gifts from the "Archbishop of a Roman Catholic Church in France" released from the "Customs", a Thane police official said.

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The two unidentified accused had befriended the 54-year-old taxi driver on social media, the official added.

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"They told the victim the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic church at France had released funds for the poor, and he was to get two lakhs Euros, a gold chain, laptop, Iphones, Bible etc. He gave Rs 17.37 lakh as customs charges and other taxes through three banks between March 20 and April 1," the official said.

Once the two men stopped all contact, the taxi driver realised he had been cheated and approached police, the official added.

A case has been registered under Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act provisions, he said.

(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)