The Udupi CEN Police have apprehended two individuals from Gujarat in connection with a cybercrime case involving the impersonation of customs and police officers. This fraudulent scheme resulted in the swindling of Rs 1.33 crore from a 53-year-old man under the guise of a FedEx courier. Authorities managed to recover Rs 13.95 lakh and five mobile phones from the suspects.
Udupi Superintendent of Police Dr. Arun K identified the arrested individuals as Navadia Mukeshbhai Ganeshbhai, 44, from Surat, and Dharamjeet Kamlesh Chauhan, 28, from Rajkot, Gujarat.
The complainant, Arun Kumar, reported receiving a call on July 29 from someone posing as a customs official. The caller falsely claimed that a FedEx courier booked using Kumar’s Aadhaar number contained five passports, five ATM cards, 200 grams of MDMA, and Rs5,000. When Kumar denied having booked any courier, the fraudsters connected him to another individual impersonating a senior police officer, who falsely informed him that his Aadhaar card was linked to several bank accounts associated with terrorist activities.
Kumar was placed under “virtual arrest” and monitored via Skype. Following the instructions from the impostors, he confined himself to a room in his house from July 29 to August 9, transferring money to various bank accounts to supposedly resolve the fabricated case. Based on his complaint, the Udupi CEN Police registered a case under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act and Section 318(4) of the BNS.
A special police team led by Inspector Ramachandra Nayak, including PSI Ashok and officers Praveen Shettigar, Rajesh, Arun Kumar, Yateen Kumar, Raghavendra Karkada, Dikshit, Prashant, Mutteppa Adin, Mayappa Gadade, Parashuram, and Sudeep, was formed to investigate the case. The police closely monitored the bank accounts involved in the scam and acted swiftly when the funds were at risk.