Delhi Police busted an international syndicate running a "digital arrest scam" and have nabbed three men for allegedly swindling Rs 55 lakh from a woman by posing as customs officers at the Mumbai airport, an official said on Wednesday.  The accused were identified as Prabhat Kumar Shah (24), Rajesh Kumar (27) and Arjun Singh (29), residents of Burari, police said.  "We have busted an International syndicate running a digital arrest scam after a woman filed a complaint on September 12. She told police that she was digitally arrested and the accused defrauded Rs 55 lakh from her," Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO) Hemant Tiwari said.  Digital arrest is a tactic where the accused pose as law enforcement agency officials, like CBI or customs officials, and threatens people of arrest by making video calls in the name of fake international parcels.  The officer said that on September 12, a woman filed a complaint at Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (Special Cell) alleging that on the morning of September 9, she received a phone call from someone who claimed to be an officer at the Customs Office in Mumbai Airport.  According to the officer, she was asked to confirm her identity and the caller informed her that customs officials had intercepted a parcel on September 6, containing 16 fake passports, 58 ATM cards, and 40 grams of MDMA (psychotropic substance), with her details listed as the sender.  "The accused further claimed that Mumbai Police had issued an arrest warrant against her, and she must surrender. The fraudsters escalated the intimidation by asserting that a CBI investigation was underway and that her arrest was imminent. Till the pendency of physical arrest, she was put under "digital arrest" by keeping continuous surveillance through video calls," DCP Tiwari said.  Police said that throughout these calls, different individuals posing as senior officers from the Mumbai police, CBI and various law enforcement agencies, pressured her to transfer funds under the pretext of verifying her accounts to avoid money laundering charges and cheated her of Rs 55 lakh. After receiving a complaint, an FIR was registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act and an investigation was taken up, police said. "Through a detailed analysis of mobile numbers and bank accounts used by the suspects, investigators identified the proprietors of a fake company. The team later identified three men Prabhat, Rajesh and Arjun Singh in Burari. Prabhat and Rajesh were found to be the proprietors of a company which was used to funnel the defrauded funds," the DCP said. He said that the accused would pose as officials from police, CBI, customs and other government bodies. They would inform victims that parcels containing prohibited items had been intercepted, with their names listed as the sender. Initially, they threatened the victims with arrest and severe penalties, but later shifted to a more sympathetic tone, suggesting it could be a case of mistaken identity. To resolve the issue, they instructed victims to lodge a formal complaint and transfer money into specified accounts for verification, falsely promising that the funds would be refunded after the verification process, DCP Tiwari said.  Police said that they had frozen Rs 20 lakh from the account of the accused which was returned to the victim, DCP said. The accused were arrested on Tuesday. Police seized three mobile phones, sim cards, passbooks, chequebooks, documents, two PAN cards, and stamps and seals related to fake companies. Further investigation is underway, DCP added.

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