Two men cleared of conning Scottish elderly woman in £2m gold boullion scam

Two men have been cleared of taking part in conning a Scots millionaire in a £2m gold bullion scam.

Jurors returned not proven verdicts on Mukesh Vippanapelli, 43, and Arumaichelvam Nagamani, 64, following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

An 86-year-old woman was targeted amid claims her money was at threat in 2023.

The widow from Lanarkshire had been contacted from an individual allegedly called Garry Reid stating he worked for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

He said he was carrying out a probe on banks and similar institutions in her local area.

Reid told her to “cash in” her investments and eventually got the woman to use her money to buy the gold bars.

These were then delivered to her home before being collected by crew members posing as “couriers”.

At one stage, the woman thanked Reid “for all you have done for me”.

But, instead, the bullion was initially ferried to London before being shifted elsewhere. It has yet to be traced by the authorities.

The victim was left badly affected both mentally and financially by how she was duped.

A string of arrests were made during the large-scale Operation Tailpiece police probe into the fraud.

Vippanapelli and Nagamani were among those held.

The pair became emotional in the dock as they were acquitted of being involved in serious organised crime as well as another charge of possessing criminal property.

‘Largest courier fraud against one victim’

Three others were jailed for a total of 11 and a half years for their part in the offence earlier this year for what a judge at the time described as the largest “courier fraud” he was aware of against a single individual.

The elderly victim had received phone calls and WhatsApp messages from Garry Reid, who claimed to be carrying out urgent investigations in his role with the FCA.

She was told her money was in danger and she was persuaded to cash in her investment portfolio and shift funds to other bank accounts.

Reid then instructed her to purchase more than £1.9m worth of bars of gold bullion, These were delivered to her home.

This occurred on five separate occasions in July 2023.

The hearing earlier this year was told how Sunil Theyath, 41, held a “senior position” in the gang.

He ordered others – including married pair Umar Mohammed, 41, and 35 year-old Hafeeza Samreen – to collect the gold bars on the pretence they were being picked up by couriers.

The bullion was initially taken to London then transferred to an unknonw location. It has never been recovered.

The person pretending to be Garry Reid has also not been traced.

The court heard the crime has left the victim badly affected.

She feels “constantly worried and ashamed”. The woman has only been able to recover a small fraction of the money.

Vippanapelli gave evidence during the trial. He said he had been asked by Mohammed to drive him and Samreen to Scotland.

His lawyer Jim Stephenson asked: “Did he tell you the purpose of this?”

He replied: “No.”

Mr Stephenson put to him to did he question Mohammed about the journey and Vippanapelli again stated he did not.

He further insisted he knew nothing about any gold bullion.

During one journey, police happened to pull them in due to Samreen’s driving when she was behind the wheel.

Asked where they had been, Mohammed told officers they had been “sightseeing in Scotland and looking at waterfalls”.

Vippanapelli said he was “uncomfortable” at what Mohammed said and instead dropped the couple off at a nearby train station for them to make their own way back to London.

Vippanapelli sobbed during his testimony as he recalled the “shock” of later being arrested shortly before he boarded a flight to India with his family.

In March, Theyath was jailed for five years and three months pleaded guilty to a charge of directing others to commit an offence connected with serious organised crime.

Mohammed was locked up for three years and nine months and Samreen two and a half years after they admitted to being involved in serious organised crime.