Honey trap gang busted, 8 arrested by Chittoor police

TIRUPATI: An eight-member gang that allegedly lured people using Facebook and other apps and honey-trapped them was busted by the Chittoor police. The gang extorted Rs 3.64 lakh from a youth.

While cops busted the gang and recovered Rs 2.5 lakh cash from the arrested accused, the mastermind of the gang managed to flee.

Disclosing details of the case to reporters, Chittoor DSP N. Sudhakar Reddy said the prime accused, Mupatla Manasa created a fake Facebook profile with the name ‘Allari Pilla’ and sent friend requests to potential targets.

“After confirmation of the request, she chatted with the victims through FB messenger and obtained their mobile numbers. Then, she lured them stating she will help them in obtaining loans and credit cards. She then sent them links to download APK files of IMO Lite, Pay load  and other apps. Upon installing these apps, the accused were able to control the victim’s mobile phone,” the DSP explained.

After gaining control, the accused asked victims to add her account number to the beneficiaries list in their bank account. When the victim entered the details, the gang was able to record their personal details, which they then used to transfer money to their own accounts. Later the gang members withdrew the money through ATMs, the DSP said.     

The police recovered Rs. 2.50 lakh as well as mobile phones and laptops used by the gang. The accused were identified as A. Sambasiva Rao, 32, Sravan Kumar, 31, C. Sudheer Kumar,  30, B. Anand Mehta, 35, G. Srinu, 21, C. Kumar Raju, 21, Loki Reddy Mahesh, 24 and Siva Kumar, 21, all hailing from various parts of Andhra Pradesh. Efforts are on to arrest Manasa.