Lucknow: The Gonda police on Saturday busted a sophisticated inter-state racket involved in illegal scrap trading and large-scale GST fraud, arresting three accused who allegedly siphoned off over ₹4 crore in tax revenue using forged documents, fake firms and manipulated e-way bills.The action was taken jointly by the Kotwali Nagar police and the crime branch cyber cell following months of technical surveillance and document verification.Superintendent of police Vineet Jaiswal said the arrested accused have been identified as Suraj Gupta alias Devi Prasad, originally from Pandey Tikri in Wazirganj (currently residing in Chandigarh), Shubham Gupta of Nawabganj and Ramteerath Verma of Lambhua in Sultanpur. The police described them as part of a well-organised syndicate operating across multiple states.According to investigators, the gang created and operated multiple shell firms using forged identities and documents. These fake entities were then used to generate fabricated invoices and e-way bills, enabling the illegal transport of scrap material while evading GST.The accused deliberately manipulated logistics details in e-way bills, frequently showing false loading points such as Raipur in Chhattisgarh and delivery destinations like Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, whereas the actual consignments were being transported from Gonda and nearby areas to Gobindgarh in Punjab, a major scrap processing hub.During interrogation, the accused reportedly confessed to dispatching ‘more than 100 truckloads of scrap’ using forged e-way bills, causing an estimated tax loss exceeding ₹4 crore to govt.Probe revealed that several firms used in the operation were non-existent or non-functional at their registered addresses. These included Pisha Traders in Chhattisgarh, Adhiraj Traders in Shimla, and Muniji Transport in Patna. Authorities found that registrations of some of these firms had already been suspended, yet they continued to be used for generating fraudulent documents.The racket first came to light on Sep 5, 2025, when Kotwali police intercepted a truck near Munnan Khan Chauraha. The driver claimed the scrap was loaded from Nawabganj in Gonda and was being transported to Punjab.However, scrutiny of documents revealed glaring inconsistencies—while the physical origin and destination differed, the e-way bill mentioned Raipur (Chhattisgarh) and Shimla (Himachal Pradesh). Further inspection found 1,760 kg of excess scrap beyond the declared weight, confirming manipulation of invoices and transport details.The police recovered four mobile phones, two Aadhaar cards and a PAN card from the accused, which are now being analysed for digital evidence, including transaction records and links to other accomplices.Officials said multiple cases linked to the same firms and modus operandi have been registered in districts such as Moradabad, Azamgarh, Bareilly, Hardoi, Varanasi and Ghazipur. One of the accused also has a criminal history in Sultanpur, indicating a wider network.The SP said the arrests were made after establishing concrete evidence of forgery, tax evasion and organised criminal activity.The police suspect that more individuals, including transporters and beneficiaries in other states, may be part of the racket. Efforts are underway to trace absconding members, identify financial beneficiaries and assess the total scale of the fraud.Officials added that coordination with GST authorities and other state agencies has been initiated to further tighten the investigation.
