Honey trap rackets target expatriates in Kerala
MALAPPURAM: The police on Thursday arrested two persons for allegedly ensnaring them in honey trap and cheating an expat from Perinthalmanna of Rs 1.5 lakh in June last year. Yakoob, 32, son of Muhammed Kutty of Parambattil house in Malappuram, and Jishad, 32, son of Kasim of Kezhakkekottaparambu house in Kozhikode, were arrested based on the complaint lodged by the expat with the Karipur police. It is believed a racket is behind the crime.
As per the complaint, the expat, who works in a European country, was contacted by one of the gang members posing as a woman. They became familiar and later agreed to meet at a lodge in Karipur. There, the gang photographed the expat with a woman, presumed to be one of its members. They then demanded money in exchange for not releasing his photographs on social media.
“Such gangs contact expats through social media posing as women. They also use photographs of attractive women as the display pictures of their social media accounts. The two later agree to meet, mostly at a lodge or a hotel. There, the victim meets a woman, who is actually working with the gang. The gang takes their photographs without the victim’s consent and later demands money to keep the whole thing quiet,” said Ashraf, SI, Karipur airport police station. The police said such gangs mainly target expats as they believe the latter will definitely have money.
“Most victims do not file a complaint fearing shame. The gangs recruit women from other states, including, Karnataka, Goa, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh,” Ashraf said.
The police said groups involved in the honey trap con in southern states are linked. Earlier, the Karipur police had arrested a Karnataka native in connection with the case.