Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police on Friday arrested four persons, detained the previous evening following a raid at an apartment in Odisha Capital, in connection with a online gaming scam.
The accused have been identified as Vaibhav Khanna (29) and Kamaljeet Singh (39) of Delhi, Tajas Kumar Patel (26) of Gujata and Gugulavath Mahipal (32) of Andhra Pradesh.
On Thursday, Cyber police and Airfield Police conducted a raid on Flat No. 602 of Prestige apartment in Sundarpada area of the city.
Bhubaneswar DCP Pinak Mishra informed that the four accused impersonated a Chinese gaming website, www. winbuzz365.com, and sent links through WhatsApp and Telegram to defraud individuals. “They lured victims into joining social media groups with an initial fee of Rs 100 while promising high returns on gaming investments. Participants were asked to deposit money via UPI payments using QR codes, but once the funds were transferred, the victims’ accounts were blocked, denying them access to their invested money. Through backend they control the flow of money transaction and earned Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 each to perform these operations,” he said.
Twenty smartphones, two computers, one laptop, CCTV systems, multiple debit cards, a router, Wi-Fi equipment, four passports, and Rs 18,700 in cash were seized from them, he said.
Mishra further stated that police have freeze Rs 6,94,512 in an account, which is suspected to be those earned by defrauding people. Further investigation is on to trace the links of the scam, he added.
The cybercrime syndicate was reportedly being operate from the apartment for past six months.
