3 men involved in digitalarrest fraud apprehended

Bengaluru: Three men who worked for a syndicate that extorted people by falsely accusing them of couriering drugs through FedEx and DHL and keeping them under digital arrest have been apprehended.South CEN crime police have apprehended Mukkaram, 28, Mansoor, 25, and Ibrahim, 45, all residents of DJ Halli and Thanisandra — and recovered nearly Rs 11.8 lakh from them.Mukkaram has been working in Dubai since 2021 for the UAE-based syndicate whose members impersonated FedEx and DHL staff. He was part of the core group of the fraudsters, police said. Mukkaram provided SIM cards, police uniforms, and mule bank accounts to the Dubai-based fraudsters.Police zeroed in on the trio while investigating a digital arrest case reported in July. The 49-year-old victim from Subramanyapura had lost Rs 30 lakh. The gang had called him on June 24, telling him that there had been a parcel containing drugs and that a case registered against him. Impersonating CBI officials, the gang directed him to rent a stay home and get himself locked in it. On the pretext of a virtual investigation, they extorted him.Police found that the victim had transferred money to an account in the name of Mansoor. After they nabbed him, they discovered he was an associate of Mukkaram. Police caught Mukkaram when he came to Bengaluru from Dubai, and based on his information, they arrested Ibrahim.Mansoor is an autorickshaw driver. He was a suspect in a murder case. He was acting as a mule account holder for commission, a senior police officer said.Ibrahim, a chef in a city hotel, used to transfer and collect the money from the mule accounts and send it to Dubai by hawala. "We have information about a few other members of the syndicate based in Bengaluru and other places, and efforts are on to nab them," the officer said.