01-06-2025
Kerala police scrutinise foreign trips of cyber fraud accused
KOCHI: Police have launched a detailed investigation into the international trips of two Muhamma residents allegedly linked to Chinese cyber fraud syndicates. The accused — Shajahan V A, 50, and Dileef A S, 43, both from Muhamma near Cherthala — were arrested following a probe into a cyber fraud case in which a Panampilly Nagar resident lost Rs 17.89 lakh in November 2024.
As part of the investigation, police examined over 100 bank accounts and identified Shajahan as a key suspect. According to officials, Rs 11 lakh of the defrauded money was traced to accounts belonging to Shajahan and his brother-in-law, Dileef.
'The accused were primarily responsible for arranging bank accounts to be used in cyber fraud operations. We have been tracking Shajahan for over six months. During that time, we found that both he and Dileef travelled to Nepal and China, where they met Chinese nationals suspected of being involved in cyber fraud cases. They also made frequent trips to north Indian states to hold meetings,' a police officer said.
Though the accused claimed that their foreign trips were for legitimate business purposes, they failed to produce convincing evidence to prove it. They reportedly created a bank account under the guise of an import-export business, which saw suspicious transactions amounting to over Rs 13 crore in a single year, with no evidence of actual business activity.
