Tirupati police have arrested seven members of a notorious gang of cyber criminals involved in a ‘digital arrest’ scam. The gang, which defrauded a 65-year-old woman of Rs 2.5 crore, was apprehended after a detailed investigation. Police also recovered cash and gold ornaments worth approximately Rs 95 lakh from the suspects’ possession.
Tirupati Superintendent of Police, V Harshavardhan Raju, addressed the media on Tuesday, revealing that the gang had posed as CBI officers investigating a massive Rs 200 crore money laundering case. In the scam, the criminals used the “digital arrest” tactic, convincing the elderly victim that she was being investigated, and siphoned off Rs 2.5 crore from her accounts. The woman realized she had been duped and filed a formal police complaint at the Tirupati West police station on January 13.
Special police teams were quickly formed, and their investigation led to the identification of the gang at Visakhapatnam. The seven suspects were arrested, with their identities confirmed as Palakollu Arun Vinay Kumar, Singampalli Ganesh (34), Palakollu Ravi Kumar (28), U Jagadish (37), P Anand Santosh Kumar (39), U Amar Anand (33), and Karri Vasudev, all residents of Visakhapatnam.
From the suspects, police recovered Rs 57 lakh in cash and gold ornaments worth approximately Rs 38 lakh. They also froze a total of Rs 36 lakh in the accused’s various bank accounts. Equipment such as sim modules, routers, and mobile phones used in the crime were seized.
According to the police, the gang had received training in cyber crime activities in Cambodia and operated out of a sophisticated cyber crime office in Visakhapatnam. This gang was involved in various cyber crimes, including digital arrests, and has been active for some time.
