Cambodia scam: Police to seek accused’s custody

Kochi: Cyber police investigating the Cambodia-based cyberfraud will file an application seeking key accused Abdul Rahman in custody on Wednesday.

Police are also investigating his involvement in recruiting people abroad for the racket. He was associated with the syndicate for five years and it is learned that he brought over a hundred people to Cambodia. Police are likely to seek him in custody for seven days.

According to sources, during initial investigations Rahman claimed that he does not know the real name of Chinese national who was running the operation and he used to go by a pseudonym, ‘King’.

He initially went to Cambodia for employment, where he came into contact with the racket. After earning their trust and favour, he rose to the position of ‘team leader’. As soon as job seekers arrived in Cambodia, all their documents would be confiscated. They would then be coerced into committing fraud. Those who refused were brutally assaulted.

Rahman was arrested in a case involving the swindling of Rs 37 lakh from a doctor, whom the gang met through a matrimonial site.

Ganja plant destroyed: Mulavukad police arrested a 34-year-old for allegedly growing a ganja plant in the compound of his residence. The arrested person has been identified as Abdul Karim of Assam. He was maintaining the plant by growing it in an empty paint bucket, police said.