NAVI MUMBAI, Nov. 3 -- Two large-scale frauds at the Karanja Fishing Port, Uran, involving exporters from Gujarat and Mumbai who allegedly cheated local fishermen and traders of fish worth nearly Rs.1 crore, came to light after a fish trader filed a complaint with the police. The police registered separate FIRs against seven people on Saturday. The complainant, Amrit Vasant Koli, 36, is a fish trader from Navapada, Karanja. Koli sources fish from local fishers and supplies it to export firms. According to the first FIR, which involves a city-based firm, five persons - three men from Veraval in Gujarat, and two from Mumbai -- duped Koli between October 18 and December 1, 2024. The accused allegedly procured fish worth Rs.74 lakh from fishers after assuring payment for the consignment, commission, ice, and loading charges. "After the delivery, they allegedly vanished without clearing the dues," said a police officer. The second case, involving a Gujrat-based firm, was against two businessmen who allegedly carried out a similar fraud worth Rs.27 lakh between October 12 and December 1, 2024, by purchasing fish from Karanja Port on credit, and then refusing to pay for the catch and commissions owed. "Both involve a similar modus operandi, and we are investigating whether they are part of a coordinated racket operating between Gujarat and Maharashtra," a senior officer said. "We suspect a systematic pattern of financial fraud in the fish export trade, where local traders bear heavy losses while the accused disappear across state lines." Senior police inspector Hanif Mulani told HT that an investigation is underway and nobody has been arrested so far.htc...