Five members of cybercrime gang nabbed by Anantapur police; ₹42 lakh cash seized | #cybercrime | #infosec

The Anantapur police on Friday arrested five members of an inter-State gang involved in large-scale cybercrimes and a nationwide investment scam. The gang was found to be operating fraudulent mobile apps from Cambodia and using fake bank accounts for money laundering.

Addressing a press conference, Superintendent of Police P. Jagadeesh said that the investigation began after a complaint from a victim, Narasimhappa of Veparalla village. He was lured through a social media advertisement into an online group claiming to offer investment tips.

The victim was encouraged to invest through two fake mobile applications — VIP66 Bajaj Investment and K26 Zerodaha Market Insights. To gain his trust, the fraudsters initially provided small returns and allowed withdrawals. Convinced by the apparent success, the victim was tricked into investing a total of ₹1.73 crore in April and May this year.

When the scammers demanded additional payments in the name of taxes to facilitate withdrawal of profits, the victim approached the Cybercrime Police. A case was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the IT Act. Special teams were formed to trace the suspects across various locations.

The arrested were identified as Bhanwarlal Goyal and Dharmendra Singh from Delhi, and Durga Sai Prasad, Kongati Krishna, and Phanikumar from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Police seized ₹41.2 lakh in cash, eight mobile phones, 20 ATM cards, multiple SIM cards, bank passbooks, cheque books, and a car from the accused. Investigations revealed that the gang had routed the funds through 13 fake bank accounts created in different locations, facilitating cryptocurrency transactions.