Bhimavaram Police Bust International Digital Arrest Scam Gang

Bhimavaram: In a major breakthrough, Bhimavaram police have recently uncovered an international cybercrime network involved in “digital arrest” scams targeting vulnerable and retired individuals.

The investigation began after retired professor Sharma was duped out of Rs 78 lakh. The fraudsters contacted him claiming to be CBI officials and said there was a discrepancy in his SIM card. They allegedly threatened him with “digital arrest” and forced him to share his Aadhaar and bank account details. The gang transferred ₹78 lakh from his account within a period of 13 days.

Following the complaint, Crime Branch Directorate teams launched an investigation into the incident and formed 7 special teams and launched a coordinated operation. Police identified 14 suspects and arrested 13 of them. The prime accused, Rahtay Jay Nayan from Mumbai, is still at large.

West Godavari District SP Adnan Nayeem Asmi revealed the details of the case. He stated that in similar cases, most of the victims were retirees or people living alone. He also confirmed that the call to the victim came from Bengaluru, disguised as a telecom verification call.

It was stated that seven of the defendants had previously worked in Cambodia. The police managed to recover ₹42 lakh and freeze another ₹19 lakh in various bank accounts, making it one of the highest recoveries achieved in such fraud cases. The accused include people from Telugu states and Karnataka and even trained professionals, including a software engineer working in a reputed company.

“There is no such thing as ‘digital arrest’. Anyone who receives such calls should immediately contact the police,” the SP warned.