A cybercrime incident has come to light in Surat, where a 90-year-old man was digitally arrested and defrauded of ₹1.15 crore over 15 days. The elderly man was contacted by fraudsters posing as officials from the CBI, ED, and Mumbai Police.

The scam began when the elderly man, Mohan, received a call from a person claiming to be from a courier company. The caller falsely informed him that a parcel containing 400 grams of MD drugs had been sent to him, and his bank account was being used for money laundering by Naresh Goyal from Jet Airways.

The fraudster then threatened the elderly man with arrest and imprisonment, warning that both Mohan and his entire family would face legal action.

The fraudsters continued calling Mohan, claiming they were from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and said that ₹2 crore in money laundering transactions had been made using his bank account. They told him that he would receive a ₹2 lakh commission but needed to share his personal information and property details to avoid being implicated in the case.

Mohan was manipulated into paying ₹1.15 crore to avoid being falsely accused. The cybercriminals continued to harass him, and after 15 days, they sent a letter, claiming to be from the Supreme Court, demanding an additional ₹40 lakh.

Unable to get the money, Mohan asked his relatives for help. His son, Mayur, became suspicious and questioned him, and realised the scam, and approached Cyber Crime police.

The police conducted an investigation, gathered technical evidence, and traced the suspects. They tracked down five individuals, originally from Saurashtra but now living in Surat, who had withdrawn a portion of the defrauded money. 

During the investigation, the police seized ₹9.5 lakh in cash, nine mobile phones, 28 SIM cards, 46 debit cards, 23 checkbooks, one car, and other materials such as rubber stamps and forms used to open fake accounts.

The police are continuing their investigation into the cybercrime network, which appears to be operated by an accused named Parth aka Model Gopani, who is currently residing in Cambodia.

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