In a major breakthrough, the Delhi Police have claimed to have busted a gang of cyber fraudsters who duped people by offering cheap flight tickets, news agency PTI reported. Two suspects have been arrested from Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh in connection with the case, an officer said on Friday.

The accused have been identified as 28-year-old Tanuj Agarwal, a tour and travel operator from Dehradun, and Tanveer (30), a resident of Deoband in Uttar Pradesh. According to the police, the duo was in contact with some Chinese nationals through a messaging app.

The case came to light after a complainant, Dikson Singh from the Civil Lines area, reported losing Rs 50,000 while attempting to book low-cost flight tickets for his family to Kerala. Singh said he had come across an online advertisement offering discounted tickets and was tricked into transferring money after clicking on a fraudulent payment link.

A case was registered at the Cyber Police Station in the north district, and a probe was launched. During the investigation, police discovered that the complainant’s money was transferred to a bank account belonging to UTM Tourism Services Pvt Ltd, a company operated by Agarwal, PTI reported.

Tanuj Agarwal was arrested on September 16 from Dehradun’s Sahastradhara Road area. During interrogation, he revealed that he had allowed Tanveer to use his bank account in exchange for Rs 65,000. Tanveer was found to be in contact with Chinese nationals on the messaging app.

Tanveer was tracked to Deoband and arrested on September 18. He confessed that he had been supplying bank account details to the foreign handlers via the messaging app and was receiving between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh per account, PTI reported.

Verification revealed that at least 25 complaints of cyber fraud across different states are linked to the bank account operated by the accused.

Police seized a chequebook in the name of UTM Tourism Services Pvt Ltd along with two mobile phones from the offenders. Authorities have stated that further investigation is ongoing to identify the foreign handlers and trace the route of the diverted money.

(With inputs from PTI)
https://www.mid-day.com/news/india-news/article/delhi-police-bust-cyber-fraud-gang-operating-cheap-flight-ticket-scam-two-arrested-23595948