Police nab two Gogi gang members, expose Pakistan-linked crypto scam

Two gang members of the infamous Gogi-Sonu Kharkari gang were arrested from Outer North Delhi and the police uncovered their links to a cross-border crypto currency-based fraud network operated from Pakistan.

The accused identified as Ritik (22) and Chandan (19) are residents of Kapashera, Delhi.

The police seized a semi-automatic pistol (Pietro Gardone VTCAL PAT make) with two live cartridges from Ritik, and a country-made pistol with one live cartridge from Chandan.

According to police, on October 2, during Dasehra celebrations, a police patrol from the Samaypur Badli Police Station noticed a white car without a front number plate in Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar.

When signalled to stop, the vehicle attempted to flee. It was successfully chased and Ritik and Chandan were arrested, while three suspects fled.

According to the police, Ritik has a long criminal history with six previous cases, including attempt to culpable homicide, robbery, and Arms Act violations. He is a close associate of gangster Sonu Kharkari, a known member of the Rajesh Bharti–Gogi gang syndicate, which has been active in extortion and organised crime in South-West Delhi.

Chandan, his 19-year-old associate, is also a repeat offender with two previous cases of robbery and illegal arms possession. The police said he provided manpower and logistics support to Ritik.

During interrogation, Ritik revealed he had been working as a mediator in crypto-based financial transactions for handlers operating from Pakistan using WhatsApp numbers starting with the 92 series. He facilitated the exchange of Indian UPI IDs and crypto (USDT) transactions via the Binance app, receiving a five per cent commission for every deal.

Investigation revealed that Pakistani handlers used UPI IDs provided by Ritik to collect funds from victims of fake loan apps, operated by overseas cyber syndicates. Once the victims transferred money on the pretext of loan repayment, the scammers shared payment screenshots with Ritik, who released equivalent amount in USDT cryptocurrency after deducting his commission.

Police found that Ritik sold USDT at inflated rates and used this mechanism to launder proceeds from blackmail and extortion rackets targeting Indian citizens.

Ritik had earlier been associated with the Rajesh Bharti-led Kranti Gang, whose leader was killed in a police encounter in 2018.

After Bharti’s death, he began working under Sonu Kharkari, who continues to operate the gang’s extortion network in Delhi and NCR.