Madanapalle police in Annamayya district arrested two interstate accused for allegedly cheating a Bengaluru-based techie from Tirupati district.
According to police, the victim, Vadluri Mohan Kumar of Pappireddypalle, was contacted on WhatsApp by a fraudster identifying himself as ‘Edwin’, who posed as a pediatrician from Texas, US. After gaining the victim’s trust over time, the conman claimed that customs officials at Delhi airport had seized $2.5 lakh he was carrying.
He then persuaded the victim to transfer ₹21.37 lakh in multiple instalments as “clearance fees” between April 4 and 15. When the payments stopped, the fraudster went incommunicado, prompting the victim to realise he had been cheated and file a complaint.
Following a tech-driven investigation supervised by Madanapalle DSP B Pavani, a police team led by Taluka CI K Kala Venkataramana and SI Ramakrishna Reddy arrested the accused — Surajit Chetia from Assam and Ahotlian Kaipeng from Tripura — near Tattivarpalle Cross.
Police recovered ₹2 lakh in cash, three mobile phones, 57 bank passbooks, 35 ATM cards, and 49 cheque books from the duo, who were operating from Hyderabad.
Annamayya district SP Dheeraj Kunubilli urged the public to stay alert against international WhatsApp frauds and report cybercrimes immediately to the national helpline 1930.
Source from: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vijayawada/techie-duped-of-rs-21-lakh-in-whatsapp-customs-scam-two-arrested-in-annamayya-district/articleshowprint/131944999.cms
