Chapter 15 New Delhi Lost Gold Legend

Time/April︱May 1983 Location / New Delhi, India Character/The leader of the Indian fraud group︱Wajid (Wajid) Indian Underworld Broker︱Igbal Norwegian Rangers︱Hunter Chinese Wandering Traveler︱Ma Zhongxin (Fred Ma) ◇ Traveling around the world freely and happily, but there are also unlucky times. On a trip to Central Asia in 1983, I passed by New Delhi, the capital of India, and accidentally fell into a trap set by the underworld. I lost 20,000 rupees (2,000 U.S. dollars), which was enough money in Central Asia Travel for two years. I lost a huge sum of money, so I exposed the inside story and warned the world to learn from it, which is exactly what is said: there are gains and losses in travel, and a failure is the birth of a new experience, which is also a kind of gain.

︱ ︱ ︱ ︱ In April 1983, I was traveling in Central Asia. After visiting the ancient city of Varanasi in India, I took a long-distance train to the capital New Delhi. I sat in a second-class car, which was clean enough to sleep in, but there was only a hard wooden bed. The weather was so hot that the hawker's milk tea was hard to quench my thirst. A homeless man sitting across from me handed me his kettle. I hesitated and looked at him. No problem, boiled water. Thanks!Then, after taking two sips, he returned the kettle to him. Japanese? No, Chinese, from Taiwan, now living in the United States.My name is Fo Laide, may I ask for your name?

Hayes, German.Are you going to New Delhi?Be careful, there are some people there who only look for travelers to attack them. They don't do anything except murder and robbery. Thanks for your advice, I'll be extra careful. Arrived in New Delhi at 10 am the next day.Stepping out of the station, a large group of motorcycle tricycles squeezed head-on, vying to ask me where I was going. How much is it to Shajiang Hotel?This is a small hotel recommended by Hayes.Most of the small hotels in India and Pakistan are black shops. Nine rupees, three, two rupees, I'll take you there.The competition is fierce, and it becomes free to bargain again.

It was only later that I found out that some people actually deliver it to the hotel for free, because they can get a commission from the accommodation fee. The tricycle enters a small, crowded road opposite the station, lined with shops and snack bars, much like Huaxi Street in Taipei, with a few sacred cows blocking the way.Such an environment is perfectly suitable for the requirements of wandering travelers in the city: cheap, deep, and adventurous principles. It took only three minutes to arrive at the Shajiang Hotel. If I knew it was so close, I should have walked here, but two rupees are only 20 cents, which is quite a bargain.

The manager took me up to a room with a double bed on the second floor, which cost 30 rupees a day.In a public-style room, a bed costs fifteen rupees. I passed by here for two days and lived in a single room, which is almost the same. Unload the big backpack, put money and valuables into a small backpack, go out, take a shower, go to the bathroom, no matter where you go, this small backpack will never leave your body. The next day is the Wansheng Festival in India. From 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., all parts of the country splash water and paint each other crazily. The colors of the water and powder are extremely bright.

A Jap went out in a white robe, and an hour later he staggered back to the hotel without an inch of white in his body.When stepping into the door of the hotel, he repeatedly shouted: horror, horror! Not only do I go out, but I also bring my camera.Fortunately, I met an Indian named Yibao, called a three-wheeled motorcycle, opened the door, rushed into the car, and connected the curtain.But in just a few seconds, the water was still splashed all over, no wonder the Japanese shouted horror. The car drove to Yibao's residence in the suburbs, and as soon as he got out of the car, a basin of water was poured from the upper back. Fortunately, the direction was skewed and it splashed on the hood, and he rushed into the house in three steps at a time.

Yibao is a bachelor, and the walls are covered with pictures of European and American nude women.He said that he likes European and American women, and asked me if I would be interested in running Dan Gang, which would net me two thousand dollars plus free air tickets. oh?There is such a good thing?Do not do anything illegal! Absolutely legal.For you foreigners, it is easy to make money. Yi Bao said without expression, the truth can only be judged by feeling, it cannot be seen from his face. So, I dubiously asked: Please tell me the conditions and methods. very simple.Just buy a round-trip air ticket from New Delhi to Hong Kong, buy Japanese-made video equipment, cameras, tape recorders and watches in Hong Kong, and bring them back to India to double the sales.For example, video equipment worth $1,000 can be sold for $2,000 here.how?

The conditions are good, can the customs at the airport pass through easily? The Indian customs tax rate is as high as 300%, and the entry inspection for locals is extremely strict, but most foreign travelers, especially those with backpacks like you, will not check, just send a cigarette or ten dollars pass. What if the goods are taxed? The tax is paid by the buyer, but there must be evidence. Well.It sounds so easy, as long as you don't bring contraband, it seems that you can take a trip. Remember, it must be Japanese! To be honest, I have been traveling for many years, and I have never run a single gang.In the past, in the Golden Triangle of northern Thailand, when I went deep into the drug trafficking center, someone asked me to bring two kilograms of heroin to the United States, but I said nothing.Freedom is more precious than life and love, what is money?

Now, you can try this business and get a taste of what it's like to run a single gang. When I returned to the hotel that afternoon, I left all my luggage in New Delhi, and took an Indian flight from New Delhi to Hong Kong via Bangkok at night with only an empty backpack. In Hong Kong, I bought a set of Japanese-made video recorders for US$800, five cameras for US$100, five tape recorders for US$50, and some watches and computers. Taxes are their business.I am sure to make money and never lose money. On the way back, we visited Thailand and Sri Lanka. When I arrived at the New Delhi airport, I was smothered by the weight of my heavy backpack.In addition to the ten-dollar bill, I put a pack of foreign cigarettes in my handbag, just in case.

There was a huge crowd at the customs checkpoint. I was thinking about how to respond when suddenly a customs officer patted my backpack behind me and said: Well, no need to check, let's go! He drew a circle with chalk on my backpack, and just like that, he passed the level inexplicably and easily. Behind me, a few foreigners with backpacks followed me out of the customs, drawing circles, no need to check. It seems that these people think that we poor vagrants don't have much money, at most a cigarette, or even a single cigarette, so it's so easy to pass the test. Back at the Shajiang Hotel, I happened to bump into Yibao.When he saw that I had returned with a full load, he smiled on that expressionless face.

Yibao contacted the buyer, and half an hour later, a tall man arrived, with an unremarkable face, but a proud and sincere look.The first thing you say when you meet: Mr. Ma, these things are not safe to put here, bring them to me tomorrow and pay you immediately. How about the price! The VCR will give you 18,000 rupees, and the camera and tape recorder will give you 2,000 rupees each.I will pay you half dollar and half rupees. Doing the math, I made exactly 20,000 rupees, or about two thousand dollars.For a nomadic traveler, $2,000 can travel around India and Nepal for two years.For Indians, this is even a big number.Their monthly salaries for civil servants and teachers are five hundred rupees, or about fifty dollars. All right.I'll be waiting for you at the hotel tomorrow morning, may I ask your name? Wang Ji.Turn around and leave after speaking.Yi Bao waited for him to leave, pulled me and said in a low voice: He said it was fake to give you half dollar and half rupees.After the transaction, he will find a reason to give you all rupees. I can go to the bank to exchange dollars back! Sorry, there is a shortage of foreign exchange in our country, and banks cannot exchange it. If you exchange dollars in the black market, you may lose 2,000 rupees. In this way, I will find another buyer to reduce the loss! That's not necessary, Wang Ji will find a way for you to minimize your loss when you exchange back to US dollars. All right!how about you?your commission? Don't worry, Wang Ji will give it to me, and it doesn't matter who I sell it to.How about it?The profit is high!You can make another trip. Ah, forget it, too tired.I'm just curious, I've never been to Danbang, I just experienced it.I'm a traveler and it's true that I get my money tomorrow and hit the road early. Okay, don't bother you, don't forget to introduce foreign girls to me in the future! I will try my best, thank you. Yi Bao's remarks were completely a roundabout way of winning by the standard broker. Of course, he and Wang Ji were in the same group. On the surface, he agreed to them, but secretly inquired about the market. It took a whole night of work, but it turned out that Wang Ji's purchase price was the highest. The next morning, while I was waiting for Wang Ji at the counter, I chatted with an old homeless man in his sixties. His name was Hunter, a Norwegian, and he was a painter. For several years, he was a top wandering master. I told Hunter about the running order gang, and asked at the same time: what do you think!Is there any fraud in it? According to my experience of going in and out of India three times, the people here are bad, but not bad enough to use violence. When they come to pick me up later, I have money and goods on me, is it dangerous to go with them alone? Well, it's hard to say.They have a close relationship with the police, committing crimes to share the spoils, and sometimes the police even cover their crimes!That's all right, I'll go with you. Well, I'm not afraid of them, two are better than one.thank you! There is some truth in the saying that homeless people cherish homeless people and rely on friends outside. At this moment, the door opened, and the big man Wang Ji walked in.We said hello, and went upstairs to move things without saying a word, Hunter also followed to help, Wang Ji glanced at Hunter. Oh, this is Hunter, we are together. Wang Ji didn't respond, expressionless. I ignored his expression. Emboldened by Hunter, I quickly moved my things into the car and got the money to go on the road. The car crosses the bridge from Gandhi Avenue in New Delhi and enters Old Delhi. The landscape here is completely different, and Muslim women with masks can be seen everywhere.Old Delhi is a gathering place for Muslims in India. There is the largest and oldest Muslim temple in India, and there are also groups of professional beggars that are not easy to see in other places.They used begging as a profession and provided three meals a day. It is said that they created several rich beggar entrepreneurs. Wang Ji parked the car on the side of the main road, led us into the narrow alley, turned left and right, and walked to a house with a patio in the middle, which looked like a Chinese courtyard house.Enter the door and go upstairs, turn left and right again, and stop in a small room. Wang Ji counted the things he wanted to buy, then sat down slowly, pulled up his trousers, and took out a few stacks of rupees from one garter, another stack of rupees from the garter of the other trousers, and a few stacks of rupees from the left and right sleeves. Folding rupees, like a magic trick, a lot of rupees are turned out. So much cash, can't it be fake?Double check, not like counterfeit bills.Indians are not smart enough to print counterfeit money, besides, rupees are not worth printing at all. I looked at Hunter, he nodded slightly, and Wang Ji motioned me to count the rupees. By the way, Mr. Wang Ji, don't you have half a dollar? Oh, the black market price of U.S. dollars has risen, and you will be charged 2,000 rupees for U.S. dollars. As expected, Wang Ji and Yi Bao were singing the oboe.Now, the goods are going to be exchanged for money, which is not what I said at all. This is a trick commonly used by underworld scammers. The matter has come to this point, a dilemma, and it is almost the same to find someone else, so I have to admit it.Anyway, it is to make money, count the money! It took half an hour to count the piles of piles, and the total was 28,000 rupees, which was 76 months' salary of an Indian. These rupees could travel in India for four years. What is the ratio of the official price to the dollar in the black market? The official price is one to ten, and the black market is one to eleven. In this exchange, I will lose three thousand eight hundred rupees, which is three hundred and eighty dollars, and Yibao said that you have a way to reduce my loss. That's all right. I'll try to get someone to exchange the dollars for you. It's about 1:10:6. I'll call you in the evening. There was a heavy 38,000 rupees in cash in the small backpack, plus his own money and camera, the total value was more than 20,000 US dollars. Fortunately, Hunter was with him, so no one would tell the truth. Hunter, see if Wang Ji will send someone to block the road and rob him. No, he wants to do it, just in the room just now. After returning to the hotel, treat Hunter to a full meal, and then take 20,000 U.S. dollars of belongings and inquire about changing U.S. dollar bills. It is said that the black market ratio of urban stores is one to eleven, and the ratio of a few free black markets is one to ten.eight.That night Wang Ji called and said that he could only exchange one to eleven, which I had expected a long time ago. The next morning, I went to the city with the money on my back, intending to find a rate of 1:11 to exchange for US dollars, but unexpectedly, the rate was 1:11.5. India is famous for its hot and humid weather. The cruel sun is merciless. The temperature rises to 41 degrees Celsius. One to eleven, one to eleven and a half; a loss of three hundred and eighty dollars or four hundred dollars.Think a hundred dollars can travel in India for a month, save it and use it to help other wandering travelers! Suddenly, a voice floated from the side. Hello, do you want to change US dollars? Hey, how do you know, how much do you change! One to ten point five. ah!There are so good, ok!when, now? No, I'm here at this time tomorrow, and I can only give you two thousand dollars in exchange.I really didn't expect that there was a 1:10.5 ratio. At that time, I just wanted to exchange the dollar back as soon as possible at the best rate. I didn't expect this to be a small gimmick in a big trap. I fell deeper and deeper without knowing it, ignoring Germany The unexpected gravity of that phrase my friend Hayes warned me about. Waiting at the same spot the next day, the boy was half an hour late. How about it, let's change it here! No, you come with me. He took me to a three-wheeled motorcycle parked on the side of the road nearby. He asked me to get on the car first, and he sat next to me. For the sake of safety, we exchange money on the motorcycle, and we must not let the police see it!The driver of the motorcycle was a Sikh wearing a turban. He was a little uncomfortable when he stared at me with ghostly eyes, but I didn't pay attention at the time.After the car started, we circled the city, and the other party first handed me a stack of twenty hundred-dollar bills to count.After counting, I was about to pocket the money. Wait a minute, I will keep this stack of dollar bills first, and I will hand them over to you after I finish counting the rupees. What he said was also reasonable. Without thinking at the time, he intuitively returned the two thousand dollars to him and handed over more than twenty thousand rupees to him at the same time. At this moment, the car stopped.I watched him count the bills, not paying attention to where the car was parked or what was going on around here. This guy counted banknotes very slowly, and it took him a long time to count halfway through.Suddenly, he poked his head out, looked around, and then said a few words to the driver in Hindi, and the driver immediately started the car and drove away. There seem to be police watching nearby, we need to change money quickly. He said, and counted the banknotes by himself.I watched him count, but I was worried that the police would appear. I was completely focused on the banknotes and the police, and had no time to care about other things. This is yet another gimmick in a great trap, and I've fallen into it without knowing it. The car went around for a while and stopped in an open place that looked like a park.When his brother counted the last stack of bills, he stopped suddenly, looked out nervously, and said to me: Hey, it seems that the police are coming, you go down first, we have to deal with it. Under such circumstances, I had the illusion that we were dealing with the police together. Without thinking and instinct, I jumped out of the car. I didn't expect that the other party had all the dollar bills and rupees. At the moment between the two seconds when I jumped down, the motorcycle flew away without waiting for me to figure out what was going on. I was left in a daze for a while, and after I settled down, I remembered that the dollar bills and rupees had gone with the car. A few Indians walked by and looked at me with strange eyes. No one knew what happened just a minute ago. I shook my head and lingered on the spot for a few minutes. I couldn't calm down for a while, thinking about what to do next? Immediately call the police?No, exchanging US dollars on the black market is illegal.Of course, I'm a foreigner, so I can say that I don't understand the local rules, but I can't tell the police everything about the gangsters, right? Back at the hotel, I made sure that the remaining 18,000 rupees were hidden in the bottom of the backpack, and then went to the counter to tell the manager and others what had happened.They were not surprised, since such things often happen.The manager told me: There are not many travelers who come here to run single gangs, and there are almost every day who are deceived.You have been scammed out of 20,000 rupees, the most money I know of travelers being scammed. Is it useful to call the police? Ha, call the police?You'll get in trouble if you go to the police. What?I was cheated and robbed, calling the police will get me into trouble! All right!You can try it at the district police station, it's not far from here.Be careful, just leave if the situation is wrong, and don't register yet. Thanks to the manager, he took the map and rushed out of the hotel. Ten minutes later, at the district police station, the policeman asked me what was the matter. Someone cheated and robbed me of 20,000 rupees, so I will report the case. ah!Twenty thousand!Please wait here and don't go. He seemed more nervous and excited than I was, and walked quickly into the room to report. After a while, a fat man walked out of the small room. He seemed to be a police officer. He was still undressed, and he was straightening his belt as he walked, as if he had just got off the bed. The fat police officer stared at me and actually smiled. How much money did you lose?The first sentence at the beginning asked me how much money I lost, and I told the truth. ah!Twenty thousand rupees, a lot of money!Of course, this is their salary for three years. How about I report the case? Of course you can report the crime, but you have to fill out a lot of forms.We need a detailed process, including the source of your rupee, etc., and at the same time No problem, it will be beneficial for you to handle the case if I fill in the report in detail! But I have to warn you, the more details you fill out, the better for us and not for you.You know, it is illegal to buy and sell US dollars privately, and you may have to stay in New Delhi for a month or two to be investigated. I don't know the rules of your country. I only know that US dollars can be exchanged all over the world.That's good, I'll go back and think about it. I have my travel plan. In order to run this single gang, I wasted a lot of time. I will go north to Kashmir in two or three days. Well, if you want to report the crime and come back, you are always welcome. The fat police officer looked like he didn't care, implying that it would not help to report the crime or not, and he might get into trouble if he reported the crime. The story of my loss of twenty thousand rupees went up and down the hotel.The manager said to me regretfully: You are too honest to be defrauded of 20,000 rupees so easily. If I had known, I would have warned you first, and maybe I could have avoided this scam. Is there any way to think about it? It is absolutely useless to report the crime, some police officers were bribed by gangsters. The manager's words reminded me of the excited look on the fat police officer's expression when he heard me say that he had lost 20,000 rupees. If you tell the police officers that you have been scammed out of Rs 60,000, they will definitely start a fight.Because there is a certain percentage of spoils. In this way, the 20,000 rupees will be ruined? Roughly the same!Unless you're genuinely British or Soviet, find out who the mastermind is. You said you wanted to investigate the mastermind.Ah, I see. what do you know? The day before I lost the money, I was walking on the road, and someone stopped me and asked me if I wanted to exchange US dollar bills. How did he know that I wanted to exchange US dollar bills? can you find him No, the key is not with him, but with whom he is instructed. How to check this?You always have to ask the person first. No, I know who the mastermind is.Manager, borrow a phone. OK, please use it. Hello, I want to find Mr. Wang Ji, ah, he is not here, my surname is Ma, please call me back, thank you! When I hung up the phone, I became more and more convinced that this scam must have been planned by Wang Ji, and that the whole trap was arranged by him. But what if he knew it was him? Direct evidence is lacking.Even if the two people who robbed and cheated were found and confronted, they had already colluded with the police.The ending must be: I can't get the money back, and I will cause trouble for the upper body! Thinking of this, there is simply nothing to do, so just admit it! Just about to go back to the room, suddenly the phone rang. Hello, yes, it's me.You are Mr. Wang Ji, do you know that I was cheated out of 20,000 rupees? ah!Twenty thousand!what happened?I'll go over right away, we'll meet and talk later. All right!Let's talk when you come over. Half an hour later, Wang Ji lay generously on my bed, listening to my account of the loss without expression. After talking for a long time, I wanted to see his expression and reaction, and catch some clues.Unexpectedly, he was indifferent, as expected of a veteran of the underworld. All right!It's a pity to lose 20,000 rupees, just be careful in the future.How about it?Want to run again? What?Run again? Bring some watch parts to Pakistan, you can earn more than ten times, bring more and earn more. How can there be such a good thing? A box of watch parts is 200 rupees, and it can be sold for more than 2,000 rupees in Karachi.However, the relationship between India and Pakistan is not good, and the border inspection is strict. If it is found to be smuggling, it will be confiscated and fined. Don't do this kind of thing! I'm really not interested.The purpose of finding him is to confirm that he is the mastermind, and then see if he can be forced to return the lost money. This is of course a whimsical thing, cash in hand is like a boiled duck in the mouth, how can I spit out a live duck again? May I ask Mr. Wang Ji, have you made a lot of money by using this method? Of course, everyone makes money!ah!What method are you talking about? You know in your heart that you gave the other party a lot of rupees, and you clearly know that rupees cannot be exchanged for US dollars in the bank. That's your business!You want to make money, the money is given to you, how to deal with it is your own business, and has nothing to do with me. Of course it has nothing to do with you, but only you know that I have a lot of rupees to exchange for US dollars. Do you think I cost you twenty thousand rupees? Roughly the same!You should not arrange the trap of exchanging money to cheat money. Is there any evidence? I can't produce evidence, and the police won't help if they get paid, but I don't know what you're talking about, I'm leaving, be careful yourself! Mr. Wang Ji, I believe that many foreigners have fallen into your trap and lost their property.But please remember, if this kind of thing is done too much, if it is done too much, one day, it will cause international disputes. If your government does not deal with you, someone will always deal with you! Mr. Ma, I want to warn you, we will not kill you, but it is very easy for you to stay here for a long time! In early June 1983, I wrote letters to relevant Indian authorities and the US embassy, ​​detailing how the money was lost, and listing Wang Ji's name and address. Two weeks later, in McLeod Ganj in Darmsana, northern India, I received a letter from my Japanese friend Hiroshi Nakagawa forwarded to me from New Delhi. This letter comes from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a few words: I am deeply sorry for the loss of your gold.Our country's police department will do our best and will notify you as soon as there is a result. Obviously, this matter may not come to fruition.