Sanjaynagar police arrest 12 men for Rs 17.64 lakh fake cryptocurrency robbery

The Sanjaynagar police have arrested 12 people for allegedly assaulting and robbing a man of Rs 17.64 lakh under the guise of a fake cryptocurrency deal on Kalpana Chawla Road in Sanjaynagar on June 9.

The complainant, a resident of Devinagar in Kodigehalli, was planning to open a café on the Sira Highway. While searching online for kitchen tiles, cutlery, and other equipment, a friend informed him that such items could be purchased at lower prices from Japan and China through cryptocurrency payments.

Following his friend's advice, the complainant learned about cryptocurrency trading and subsequently joined a WhatsApp group dedicated to USDT trading.

On the night of June 8, one of the group members contacted the complainant and successfully converted Rs 2.5 lakh into USDT at the complainant's residence. Encouraged by this smooth transaction, the complainant contacted the same person on WhatsApp the next day to convert a larger sum of Rs 17.64 lakh into cryptocurrency.

The accused instructed the complainant to bring the cash to Kalpana Chawla Road in Sanjaynagar. The complainant arrived at the location on June 9 with the money, accompanied by his brother and a friend.

Upon their arrival, the suspects assaulted the three men, snatched the cash, and fled the scene without transferring the promised cryptocurrency. The victim lodged a police complaint the following day, after which the police registered a case of robbery.

During the initial investigation, the police arrested four suspects. Under interrogation, these four individuals revealed the involvement of eight others in the crime. Following these leads, the police arrested the remaining suspects and successfully recovered Rs 13.9 lakh of the stolen cash.

According to the police, the 12 accused individuals are aged between 20 and 40 years and hail from different parts of Bengaluru. Investigators revealed that the group had conspired to rob the complainant after learning he would be carrying a large amount of cash for the cryptocurrency transaction.