Agartala: Police in Tripura have arrested five individuals accused of orchestrating a scheme to convert black money into white, an official reported on Friday.
The case unfolded when a man visited a travel agency in the Math Chowmuhani area on Thursday.
He purchased a ticket to Kashmir for Rs. 10,000 through an online payment. A few hours later, he returned to cancel the ticket and received a refund, raising suspicion.
Shortly after the transaction, the travel agency owner received a call from Tamil Nadu police, informing him that his account had been frozen due to the transfer of illicit funds.
Alarmed, the owner filed a complaint at the East Agartala police station.
Acting swiftly, the police launched an investigation and apprehended the individual who had booked the ticket.
Following his confession, four more suspects connected to the fraud were also arrested, revealed East Agartala police station officer-in-charge, Rana Chatterjee.
During the arrests, police seized multiple ATM cards and bank passbooks believed to have been used in the operation.
“The group would deposit black money into various accounts via online payments and later withdraw it, effectively laundering the funds,” Chatterjee explained.
The gang also reportedly encouraged people to open multiple bank accounts and rent out their ATM cards for Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 3,000 per month, which were then used for fraudulent digital transactions.
Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Sadar, Debaprasad Roy, stated, “The investigation is ongoing, and we are working to uncover more details about this fraudulent network.”
