The accused reportedly helped the cyber fraud team he worked for in carrying out several such frauds, extorting lakhs from multiple victims.
| Photo Credit: PHOTO FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE
In an early morning operation, the Uttara Kannada CEN police arrested a cyber slave-turned-cyber fraudster at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru on Friday.
The accused, identified as Shah Alam, 23, from Bihar, was nabbed using just one clue — his name. The police team scanned Bengaluru-bound flights from across the country, took a calculated guess, and detained Alam, who arrived on a flight from Delhi. Their hunch proved right.
The victim, a 38-year-old businessman from Uttara Kannada, believed that Alam was a potential bride he met on a matrimonial website and hence continued chatting. Between June 21 and July 23, the accused convinced the victim to gift him a new iPhone, a MacBook, and ₹36 lakh for trading. However, the scam began on May 25 — when Alam was still in Cambodia where he was held captive as a cybercrime slave.
Cyber slavery
Alam met an agent who sent him to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on April 29 to work with a Chinese cyber fraud team. During his stint there, Alam set up a trap for the Uttara Kannada businessman on the website and passed his contact to a woman in the team, who built the victim’s trust after chatting for many days.
“The woman chatted with the victim, persuaded him to invest in a trading platform, and initially showed a profit of ₹6 lakh, all under Alam’s supervision,” said B. Ashwini, Deputy Superintendent of Police, who investigated the case.
Alam helped the team carry out several such frauds, extorting lakhs from multiple victims. But when he was denied a fair share, conflicts arose.
A police officer told The Hindu that the cyber team allowed the “slaves” to take brief breaks when they brought in big profits. During one such outing, Alam escaped, approached the Indian Embassy in Cambodia, and narrated his ordeal. The embassy arranged his immediate return to India.
Extortion in India
After returning, Alam contacted the Uttara Kannada businessman again using a new number, posing as the same woman and claiming she had changed her phone. Over time, he demanded more “gifts”. On one occasion, he flew to Hyderabad and collected them, pretending to be the woman’s brother.
By August, the businessman grew suspicious after seeing no returns for three months. The investigation team, led by Ms. Ashwini, kept the conversation going and set up a trap.
In early November, the businessman offered another gift and asked Alam to come to Bengaluru. The only clue was the name Alam, mentioned by the accused when he collected gifts from the businessman in Hyderabad.
Though Alam claimed that he was coming from Hyderabad, no flight was booked under that name for November 7. After checking hundreds of flights, police found one ‘Alam’ arriving from Delhi. He was detained at KIA, where he confessed to the crime.
Deepan M.N., Superintendent of Police, Uttara Kannada, confirmed to The Hindu that Alam has been remanded to judicial custody. Police will seek his custody again for further investigation.
Published – November 09, 2025 11:30 pm IST
