Two men were recently arrested in India over £70,000 'Aladdin's lamp' con. Laeek Khan alleged that he was duped by two men who pretended to conjure up a genie from a lamp similar to Aladdin’s lamp. Khan, a doctor, was duped into purchasing the lamp after he bought the fake genie angle in the con-story. The imposters have been arrested in India. Laeek Khan reached out to Uttar Pradesh police after he found that the lamp didn’t have any magical powers after-all. He believed in the fact that the lamp would produce a genie. Amit Rai, a senior officer, told AFP that, “The cheats had struck a deal for much more but the doctor had paid about 7m rupees (£72,000). The wife of one of these men was also involved in the fraud. She is on the run.” When Khan asked the two men if he could touch the genie or take the lamp home, they refused, saying it might cause him harm, the complaint stated.
They eventually sold the lamp to him, promising it would bring health, wealth and good fortune. Khan realised later that the “genie” was actually just one of the men in disguise. “The men have also cheated other families using the same modus operandi. The total amount of money involved runs into several million rupees,” Rai added.
