Thrissur: A couple was arrested for allegedly honey trapping a 63-year-old businessman from Thrissur and stealing Rs 2.5 crore. The suspects, identified as Shemi (38) and her husband Sojan (32), were arrested by Thrissur city police, who also recovered four luxury cars and 82 sovereigns of gold from the couple.
The scheme began in 2020 when Shemi, claiming to be a 23-year-old woman residing in a hostel in Ernakulam, made contact with the businessman via WhatsApp. The two developed an online friendship that soon turned into a personal connection. Shemi initially borrowed money for small expenses, but later escalated the situation by sending explicit messages and video calls showing her naked body, thereby luring the businessman into a trap.
Shemi threatened to release intimate chats and videos unless the businessman sent her large sum of money. In response, the businessman withdrew fixed deposits from accounts in his wife’s and mother-in-law’s names and pledged his wife’s gold jewellery to raise the required funds. He transferred nearly Rs 2.
5 crore into the accounts provided by Shemi. After the businessman was left with no funds, Shemi threatened him again, prompting him to file a police complaint. Investigators traced the couple’s bank account transactions and cyber evidence.
The investigation led the police to the couple leading a luxury lifestyle in Ashtamudimukku, Kollam. Realizing the police were closing in, the couple fled to Wayanad, but police tracked their mo.