Ahmedabad: A private cyber expert, hired to assist the local crime branch in investigating a call centre, exploited the situation and secretly transferred $48,300 (approx. ₹41 lakh) in cryptocurrency into his account during a police raid. The accused, Devendra Patel, was arrested and presented in court on Wednesday, where he was remanded to eight days of police custody.

According to LCB officials, Patel was called in to examine mobile phones and a laptop seized during a raid at a residence in Danilimda. There, he falsely claimed that no call centre data was found, but forensic analysis later exposed the unauthorized cryptocurrency transfer.

After the raid, Ayaz Sheikh, who allegedly ran the call centre, informed the police about the missing cryptocurrency from his wallet. Since the transfer occurred during the raid, a formal complaint was filed. A tip-off led to Patel’s arrest near his residence, and two seized mobile phones linked him to the illicit transactions.

Patel, who holds a master’s degree in computer applications, learned about Sheikh’s crypto holdings and, with an accomplice, used his phone to transfer the funds to his account before moving them to a third-party wallet. The accused admitted to investing around ₹30 lakh in the stock market, lending ₹8 lakh to friends, and spending ₹2 lakh.

He now faces charges of theft, fraud, and criminal breach of trust under the Information Technology Act at Maninagar police station. Authorities are investigating whether he has committed similar crimes elsewhere or is wanted in other cases. DeshGujarat