Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Cyber Crime Police Station, Goa, has arrested a man from Kerala in connection with a “digital arrest” cyber fraud in which a Quepem resident was cheated of ₹1.05 crore after being falsely told he was involved in a money laundering case.
Police said the accused, identified as Gokul Prakash M.K. of Pappinisseri West, Kannur, and his associates impersonated law enforcement officers using WhatsApp numbers, claiming the victim was a suspect in the Naresh Goyal money laundering case. They allegedly showed him a fake arrest warrant and coerced him into transferring the money through multiple transactions to different bank accounts.
Based on technical and financial analysis, investigators tracked Gokul Prakash to Kannur, where a police team led by PSI Manish Dabale arrested him on August 7. Officials said his ICICI Bank account had received ₹24 lakh from the fraud and was linked to 13 criminal cases across 10 states, involving a total of over ₹9 crore in fraudulent transactions.
The accused has been remanded to police custody, and further investigation is underway under the supervision of PI Deepak Pednekar, ASP Akshat Ayush, IPS, and SP Rahul Gupta, IPS.
