KOCHI: Police have launched a detailed investigation into the international trips of two Muhamma residents allegedly linked to Chinese cyber fraud syndicates. The accused — Shajahan V A, 50, and Dileef A S, 43, both from Muhamma near Cherthala — were arrested following a probe into a cyber fraud case in which a Panampilly Nagar resident lost Rs 17.89 lakh in November 2024.
As part of the investigation, police examined over 100 bank accounts and identified Shajahan as a key suspect. According to officials, Rs 11 lakh of the defrauded money was traced to accounts belonging to Shajahan and his brother-in-law, Dileef.
“The accused were primarily responsible for arranging bank accounts to be used in cyber fraud operations. We have been tracking Shajahan for over six months. During that time, we found that both he and Dileef travelled to Nepal and China, where they met Chinese nationals suspected of being involved in cyber fraud cases. They also made frequent trips to north Indian states to hold meetings,” a police officer said.
Though the accused claimed that their foreign trips were for legitimate business purposes, they failed to produce convincing evidence to prove it. They reportedly created a bank account under the guise of an import-export business, which saw suspicious transactions amounting to over Rs 13 crore in a single year, with no evidence of actual business activity.
Police will now seek the custody of the duo for further interrogation. “We need to verify the identities of the individuals they met abroad. There are indications that several other Indian nationals are involved in this network. The interrogation is crucial to exposing the full extent of the syndicate,” the officer added.
Further investigation revealed that Shajahan, who contested the election to Alappuzha district panchayat, and also to Kerala Assembly election from Mararikulam, had one of his bank accounts linked to 72 cyber fraud cases across India. The account has since been frozen.
“The victim in the current case was lured with promises of high returns via a fake share brokerage platform. We have also found that Shajahan’s account received funds from scams involving fake mParivahan apps and online job frauds,” said the officer.
Key findings
Shajahan’s account linked to 72 cyber frauds across India, including fake apps and job scams
Rs 13 crore routed through fake import-export firm with no proof of actual business activity