India
Police say Pakistan operatives trapped Vizag navy staff
The Indian Express··4d ago
Investigators say Pakistani operatives used social media and WhatsApp to blackmail navy staff in Visakhapatnam. Officials monitored driver Annam Sai Varaprasad for over a month before his October 6 arrest. They allege operatives targeted at least 16 others after obtaining OTPs. Raids on October 1 covered 18 people, including 13 navy employees across several states, investigators said.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Naval bases may tighten monitoring of contract staff with basic security clearance.
- Investigators are examining phones for cryptocurrency payments to operatives, they said.
- Raids on October 1 followed a case registered on September 2 after surveillance.
What's Happening
- Varaprasad, 28, was arrested October 6 after over a month of monitoring, officials said.
- Investigators allege a woman operative posed as a shipping firm employee on social media.
- At least 16 others were lured using OTPs from compromised WhatsApp accounts, they said.
How the case was built
- Targets included employees in Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Goa, Delhi and other states.
- Trainee sailor Pradeep Mukharjee, 31, was also allegedly trapped by a medical professional persona.
- Information sought included movement of naval ships and submarines, investigators said.
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