Hyderabad: Tolichowki police have apprehended five individuals involved in an attention diversion case, recovering Rs 7.55 lakh.Those arrested are Mohd Bilal, Md Abdul Azam Pervez, Mohd Iqbal, Mohd Jameel Ahmed, and Syed Maaz Hussaini. Meanwhile, Abdul Shahed, Syed Kaleel Ahmed, Mohd Akhil Ahmed, and Syed Irfan are currently absconding.

According to police, a complaint was lodged on July 25 by P Sai Prasad Reddy, who reported being defrauded of Rs 11,71,000 by a group employing an attention diversion tactic. The complainant, interested in purchasing cryptocurrency, came into contact withMaaz online via the Reddit app. Maaz informed him that his friend Irfan possessed USDT (Tether) worth Rs 10 lakh and was willing to sell it at a low price.

On July 24, Sai Prasad arranged Rs 6,40,000 and met Maaz and Irfan at Paramount Colony. They took him to a shop named Air Link (Domestic & International Ticketing) at Ahmed Mazil, Paramount Colony, Tolichowki. Upon entering the office, four unknown persons and a customer were present. An unknown individual took Rs 6,40,000 from the complainant, counted the amount, which was then taken by other unknown persons. They instructed him to wait for some time, assuring that the USDT would be transferred directly to his Trust Wallet (trading account). He waited for a long time, but the USDT was not credited to his wallet, leading him to suspect a delay.

During this time, two members of the office staff suddenly began quarrelling, diverting the complainant’s attention. Meanwhile, the other two individuals seized his cash bag and fled from the office. The complainant subsequently learned that the accused had simultaneously used the same diversion tactic to defraud another customer, Syed Niyamudin, of Rs 5,31,000.