Rs 1.5 crore defrauded in name of online share trading; Youth held while trying to flee abroad

THRISSUR: The police arrested an accused, who was on the run in the case of cheating Rs 1.5 crore in the name of online share trading. The arrested is Syed Safwan (23) of Malanja House at Kaithapoyil in Kozhikode Puthuppady. The police caught him from Kozhikode airport while he was trying to flee abroad. He has been brought to Thrissur Rural Cyber Police Station and will produce him in the court after completing the procedures.

The complainant contacted Syed Safwan and his associates after seeing a share-trading advertisement in The Economic Times newspaper. They initially added the complainant to a WhatsApp group and then sent him a website link and the necessary instructions for share trading.

Trusting them, the complainant transferred a total of Rs 1,34,50,000 from various accounts to their accounts between September 22 and October 31, 2024. However, the accused refused to return either the invested amount or the profits allegedly earned through trading.

Based on the complaint, the police launched an investigation. The investigation revealed that the complainant’s money had been credited to various accounts and subsequently transferred to several other accounts. The police had arrested nine accused persons in connection with the case last year.

Meanwhile, Syed Safwan moved the high court seeking anticipatory bail, but his plea was rejected. The court directed him to appear before the investigating officer within 10 days. However, he failed to comply with the court’s order and was arrested by the police while trying to flee to Dubai.