Two persons arrested for Rs 46-lakh online fraud

Kochi: A special squad of city police on Friday arrested two persons working in film industry in connection with an alleged online fraud amounting to Rs 46 lakh.

The arrested persons were identified as Sreedev, 35, of Ernakulam and Muhammed Rafi, 37, of Kannur, an associate director and a costume designer in film industry, respectively. According to police, a young man from Mattancherry fell victim to an online financial scam and lost money during Jan and Feb. The perpetrators allegedly sent a link via WhatsApp to the victim's phone, convincing him to log in and deposit money, promising higher returns if he gave ratings online.

They swindled him out of Rs 46 lakh over multiple transactions. The victim reported the scam to National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal at 1930 and registered a case at Mattancherry police station. With the help of cyber cell, police conducted a detailed investigation and gathered information about the scam and suspects.

By tracking the suspects' mobile phone locations, the accused were apprehended. The police arrested them, discovering that money obtained from the scam was transferred to Sreedev's account as instructed by Rafi, and then Sreedev handed it over to another person. The special investigation team included sub-inspector Madhusoodanan, senior civil police officers Edwin Rose and Dhanesh, and cyber police station officer Arun. Further arrests are expected in this case, and police are also investigating other scams conducted by these individuals.