13 traders booked for Rs 6.5 crore cheating

Surat: A Surat-based trader dealing in plastic poly poplin granules was allegedly cheated of Rs 6.55 crore by a group of 13 accused from Navsari and Rajkot in a fraud involving fake trade transactions and misuse of GST credits.Athwalines police registered a complaint in the case and transferred the investigation to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW).According to the complaint, Sumit Agrawal (47), who runs a trading firm in the Ring Road area, was introduced to the Navsari-based father-son duo through a broker.The Jagani duo allegedly told Agrawal that they imported plastic granules and could supply goods to traders at lower rates. They claimed they required advance payments for imports and, in return, would connect Agrawal with buyers willing to purchase goods on credit. Agrawal would then directly raise bills and recover payments from those traders.Believing the business proposal to be genuine and profitable, Agrawal allegedly transferred large sums as advance payments between Aug and Oct 2025.The accused later claimed that consignments had been supplied to Rajkot-based traders who were linked to three different firms.However, police said no actual goods were delivered to the traders. Investigators suspect that all the accused had conspired to create fake trade transactions. Using the invoices generated by Agrawal, the accused allegedly availed GST input tax credit and later refused to make any payment.