CUTTACK: Chauliaganj police on Thursday raided a hotel in Sikharpur locality here in connection with a cryptocurrency racket and arrested 32 people in two separate but related cases.
While five were arrested for their alleged involvement in the scam, the other 27 were held for abducting and holding the fraudsters captive at the hotel.
Speaking to mediapersons, DCP Khilari Rishikesh Dnyandeo said the raid was conduced basing on information that some investors who had been cheated of their money had allegedly held captive five fraudsters at the hotel.
As per information, the duped investors had caught hold of the five fraudsters from Puri and brought them to Cuttack where they held them hostage at the hotel from Wednesday evening.
“During searches, 32 people including the five fraudsters and 27 investors were arrested. The 27 investors have been booked for abduction and detainment. While one among them is from Odisha, the others hail from West Bengal. Preliminary investigation suggests it is a cryptocurrency racket,” said Dnyandeo.
Probe revealed the five ran a cryptocurrency trading platform in the name of ‘OUT World’ and duped thousands of investors on the promise of high returns.
“When they failed to refund the money to the investors, they launched another investment platform ‘Econist’ to hoodwink the former. These fraudsters had been hiding in Puri when some of the investors who had been cheated found out their whereabouts and caught hold of them,” said Dnyandeo adding, they have informed their West Bengal counterpart about the incident.
As many as 35 mobile phones, four luxury cars and a crypto wallet device have been seized from their possession. “Two cases have been registered. Further investigation is underway,” the DCP said.
