Wayanad: The Cyber Police team has arrested a 29-year-old Tamil Nadu native for cheating a resident of Sulthan Bathery of ₹31.48 lakh by luring him with promises of huge profits through online trading.

The accused, Vignesh, a resident of SV Garden, Makkinampatti near Pollachi, was arrested from his house by a team led by Shaju Joseph, Inspector of the Kalpetta Cyber Police Station.

According to a complaint filed by a resident of Kuppadi near Sulthan Bathery, the accused contacted him through WhatsApp and persuaded him to invest in online trading, assuring substantial profits. Acting on these assurances, the victim transferred large sums of money in multiple instalments between December 2024 and March 2025.

Police said the accused had created a fake online trading platform to dupe people seeking quick returns. The trading accounts provided to investors were also fake, and none of the victims received any returns, either shares of profits or even their invested capital.

Inspector Shaju Joseph said the accused initially encouraged victims to invest small amounts. When they incurred losses, they were persuaded to invest more money in the hope of recovering earlier losses.

Shaju revealed that the accused facilitated money transfers exceeding ₹3 crore through his bank account within a single month. Data from the National Cyber Crime Portal showed that 29 cyber fraud cases have been registered against him across 14 states.

Police also said another victim, a school teacher who invested ₹50 lakh in similar online trading schemes, declined to file a complaint, fearing it could affect his government job.

Apart from Inspector Shaju Joseph, the Cyber Police team included Sub-Inspector AV Jeleel, Senior Civil Police Officer VK Sasi, and Civil Police Officers P Arun, LA Linraj, KA Shyjal, Muhammed Aneeesh, K Muslih, and PP Praveen. The accused, Vignesh, was produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Kalpetta, and remanded to judicial custody at Vythiri Sub Jail.