Over 30 websites hacked for bitcoin - Bengaluru police 'stunned'

The Bengaluru central crime branch police were reportedly stunned by the "hacking skills" employed by the 25-year-old computer programmer who was arrested last week. Joint police commissioner (Crime), Sandeep Patil said that the accused Srikrishna aka Shreeki has hacked nearly 30 websites which mainly deal with bitcoin.

"Our interrogation has revealed that he has hacked many websites and had sought the court`s permission to take him into our custody. The court has remanded his police custody on Thursday, we are investigating him further about his various roles," he said.

The police added that Prasid Shetty and Suneesh Hegde - a real estate businessmen and resident of Sadashivanagar, had been ably assisting him in hacking. "We need to know their roles too," the officer added

The CCB caught the programmer while they were interrogating eight persons including Congress Dalit leader`s son Darshan Lamani involved in procurement of drugs through the dark web last month. Darshan Lamani was arrested for sheltering and hosting two of his friends who turned out to be drug peddlers in Goa.

The police added that Shreeki hacked several gaming portals especially on-line gambling portals and he used to collect those winning cards of players from portals and use the same cards to procure bitcoin, which in turn were used to procure ganja through the dark web.

The police added that Shreeki has made illegal gains through his hacking skills. "It is not easy for anyone to comprehend it in a single sitting. We needed him to gather more technical evidence, in order to know complex web of bitcoins being used for illegal transactions," the officer added.

Last week when he was arrested, the police had said Shrikrishna has an impressive biodata as he did his three-year computer graduate programme course in the Netherlands.

"He lived in Amsterdam for his studies between 2014 to 2017. He studied in a reputed university over there," the police note had revealed.

During routine investigations of the eight persons arrested in a drug case last month, the police often came across Shrikee`s name for helping them source hydro-ganja through the dark web.

Apart from this, he has even hacked company websites to make money by threatening them to destroy crucial data from servers, the police claimed.

This eight-member gang used to procure drugs through the dark web and enjoy their life in luxurious resorts and flats in and around the city by organising high-profile rave parties.

The CCB caught one of the accused in the case - Sujay outside the Bengaluru Foreign Post Office with 500 gm of hydroponically-grown marijuana on November 9.

The CCB learned that Sujay and his associates, Hemanth Muddappa, Prasid Shetty and Suneesh Hegde - a real estate businessman and resident of Sadashivanagar - had allegedly ordered the marijuana on the dark net by paying bitcoin.

This case caught the public attention after the CCB picked up Congress dalit leader and former minister Rudrappa Lamani`s son Darshan Lamani from Goa for allegedly sheltering his friends.

Then the CCB through investigation came to know that the head constable of the Sadashivanagar Police Station, H. C. Prabhakar was also arrested for allegedly colluding with the accused and tipping them off as the CCB sleuths were on the lookout for them.

The police is continuing its investigations in the case.

The story has been taken from a news agency