The Delhi police has busted an international cyber extortion racket from Thailand which was run by three accused—Sumit (42), Prince (35), and Nitish (31)—who posed as a notorious gangster and threatened a Delhi-based businessman over WhatsApp, demanding cryptocurrency payments.
Police investigation revealed that one of the accused is a graduate from the London School of Economics.
How did the matter came to light?
As per the police, The victim, who is a businessman approached Desh Bandhu Gupta (DBG) Road police station after receiving a threat call from a Thailand-based number. The accused have used a well-known gangster’s name to instil fear, and demanded money through a crypto QR code to receive payment in cryptocurrency and warned of dire consequences, including harm to his children—if he refused.
Deputy commissioner of police (Central) Nidhin Valsan said, “A case under Section 308(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered. Based on the severity of the case, two separate teams from DBG Road Police Station and the Cyber Police Station (Central District) were formed to launch an investigation. Through an Advance cyber analysis, the origin of the WhatsApp call & crypto trail all the way from Thailand was tracked. The three accused have been arrested. The accused thought that operating from abroad would not let them get caught but our teams tracked their digital trails.”
The joint team, thereafter used advanced cyber tools to track the origin of the Whatsapp call & the QR code. The previous cypto-transaction were analysed using advanced cyber tools in co-ordination with i4C, MHA, the suspects were successfully tracked down in Thailand, where they had fled to evade detection. Once the suspects landed back in India, the trio was immediately apprehended. Two mobile phones used to generate crypto QR code & to make the international Whatsapp call also recovered from their possession.
During the course of interrogation, the accused persons revealed that all three of them were heavily debt-ridden, and to pay off their debts, they thought of an “easy way” out and they chose this extortion plot. One of the accused, Sumit, who works as a in the jewellery business, was well acquainted with the complainant and his family. Police officials said that Nitish, an LSE postgraduate from Moti Nagar, was the mastermind behind the crypto transactions.
To instil fear, they used the name of a well-known gangster. All the three accused persons conspired their plot here in India and in an attempt to escape detection, the accused persons reached Thailand and purchased an international SIM card from Thailand and placed calls via WhatsApp.
Sofia Babu Chacko is a journalist with over five years of experience covering Indian politics, crime, human rights, gender issues, and stories about marginalized communities. She believes that every voice matters, and journalism has a vital role to play in amplifying those voices. Sofia is committed to creating impact and shedding light on stories that truly matter. Beyond her work in the newsroom, she is also a music enthusiast who enjoys singing.
