Kannur (Kerala) | A 42-year-old man, wanted by the police in a major cheating case in which a homemaker was allegedly duped of her gold ornaments and cash after being promised an interest-free gold loan, has been arrested, police said here on Wednesday.

P P Ismail, a native of Ussanmukku in Edayakkad, was arrested from Kochi, where he had been hiding, they said.

According to the police, the fraud was carried out under the cover of a shop operating from a building near the Thalassery General Hospital.

The complainant, a woman from Dharmadam, was approached by the accused and his associates with an attractive offer of an interest-free gold loan for one year.

They allegedly assured her that once the loan period ended, she would either get back the same gold she pledged or new ornaments of the same weight in designs of her choice.

Trusting the offer, the woman handed over 62.3 grams of gold ornaments to secure a loan of Rs 2.5 lakh. She was later asked to pay an additional Rs 1.25 lakh on the promise that the gold would be returned.

However, even after receiving the money, the accused failed to return either the gold or the cash, police said.

The victim then approached the Dharmadam police and filed a complaint.

Several others linked to the case, including shop associates and agents, had been arrested earlier.

Police say the group is involved in frauds worth nearly Rs 3 crore and faces around 35 cases registered at different police stations.

A special team from the Dharmadam police, with support from the Thalassery ASP squad and the Ernakulam Town North police, tracked down and arrested the accused in Kochi.

Further investigation is underway, police added.