Hyderabad Police arrest two accused in digital arrest targeting senior citizen

Hyderabad: Hyderabad Police have arrested two accused in connection with a digital arrest scam in which a retired employee lost over Rs 29 lakh.

The Cybercrime Police apprehended the two accused involved in arranging mule bank accounts, withdrawing fraudulently obtained funds, and depositing the amounts into various bank accounts to conceal the money trail. They also allegedly facilitated transactions involving USDT (digital currency) in coordination with cyber fraudsters and earned commissions for their involvement.

The accused have been identified as Mohd Ashfaq Hussain and Ahmed Najeeb Uddin, both residents of Hyderabad.

The third accused, Sachin, a resident of Bengaluru, is absconding, police said in a release on Sunday.

Giving details of the case, Additional Commissioner of Police, Crimes & SIT, Hyderabad City, M. Srinivasulu, said that a 63-year-old retired employee had received calls from unknown persons impersonating officials of the Delhi Police, CBI, and Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 3, 2025

The fraudsters falsely alleged that he was involved in a money laundering case involving Rs 68 million and threatened him with arrest. To make their claims appear genuine, the fraudsters sent forged official documents and falsely stated that the complainant's Aadhaar details and fingerprints had been misused in the alleged crime. They obtained his personal and banking details and induced him and his daughter to transfer money under the pretext of verification, assuring them that the amount would be refunded.

The fraudsters further threatened them with arrest and instructed them to maintain secrecy in the name of national security. Believing their claims, the complainant and his daughter transferred a total amount of Rs 29,17,668-. When the amount was not refunded, the complainant realised that he had been cheated and approached the police for necessary legal action. Based on his complaint, a case was registered under sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act and sections 111(2)(b), 318(4), 319(2), 336(3), 338, and 340(2) of the BNS.

According to police, the two accused were facing financial difficulties and had come into contact with Sachin through WhatsApp. Sachin devised a plan to route money obtained from victims of digital arrest fraud through multiple bank accounts using Cash Deposit Machines (CDMs) to conceal the money trail and make it difficult for investigating agencies to trace the transactions. As part of the plan, Ashfaq collected the bank account details from Najeeb and shared them with Sachin. Subsequently, Sachin transferred the fraudulently obtained funds into the bank account provided by Najeeb.

Subsequently, Ashfaq and Najeeb withdrew the money through cheques and deposited the cash into various bank accounts using CDMs. Sachin allegedly used the deposited funds to purchase USDT cryptocurrency and subsequently sold it online in exchange for Indian rupees.

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