HYDERABAD: Panjagutta police on Monday arrested a notorious interstate cyber fraudster in Errumanzil for duping over 200 people of Rs 50 lakh to Rs 60 lakh. The accused, Marisarla Balaji Naidu, is an engineering graduate from Sri Venkateswara University. ACP S Mohan Kumar said the accused would target the sellers of pre-used luxury phones on the OLX platform.
“Naidu would agree to the sellers’ price without negotiation and after the deal, he requested them to remove the devices’ details from the website,” the ACP said. After the sellers deleted the details, the accused posted the same phones for sale, however, he kept the pictures of fresh devices as an advertisement. When interested buyers interacted with his profile on OLX, Naidu redirected them to the original sellers for verification.
Naidu told the buyers he was related to the sellers and vice versa, the police said and added that after receiving the payment on UPI he would block both parties. He spent the cheated amount on online betting platforms like DafaBet, Rummy Time, Rummy Circle, and other websites. The police said 138 victims lodged complaints against the accused with the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP).
This apart, 19 cases have been registered against him at various police stations in Tri Commissionerates. The accused had earlier been arrested by the Bangalore, Vijayawada and Tirupati Police..
