The Cyber Crime Department of the Tamil Nadu Police Department has arrested 12 cybercriminals involving various cybercrimes such as online investment fraud, scholarship scams and digital arrest scams from all over the country.
According to the press release, a special team was formed to investigate the case where doctors walked into the suspect trap and lost Rs 8.7 lakh. A gang of eight suspects who traded online investment scams with Sri Lanka links were arrested. The victim was attracted by the tempting offer advertised through fake Facebook pages, promising a high return on investment.
Sahabudeen (44), Shahid Afridy (27), Musthaq Ahamed (24), Mohamed Usman (67) and four others were arrested. Police seized electronics and communication equipment from them.
In another case related to the scholarship scam, cybercrime police conducted an operation in Delhi and arrested three suspects, Ashu Kumar (29), Anuj Kumar Jha (21) and Shubham Kumar (22), directly involved in the crime.
In another case, the victim living in Vellore received a WhatsApp video call in the name of “Mumbai Police”, a typical digital arrest scam. The complainant threatened to send all bank details to verify the serial number of the currency. In the process, he transferred Rs 272 crore to a bank account given by the fraudster three days later.
During the investigation, it was found that the defrauded amount of Rs 13 crore was credited to an account in Kerala, which belongs to a trading company owned by Manju. When police were questioned, she revealed that she opened a bank account under the instigation of her second husband, Imthiaz Shah, and investigators later found that he was actively involved in the crime. The defendant and his colleagues operated from Thiruvananthapuram.
It was found that 99 complaints have been made to the account across India. The press release said the defendant Imthiaz Shah was arrested.
publishing – April 23, 2025 at 12:23 am IST
