Cyber- criminal dupes boys through FB accounts

Using 34 Facebook accounts, 12 mobile phones and a Blackberry phone, a cyber- criminal threatened and extorted young boys after he obtained obscene pictures of them by pretending to be a girl.

The cyber-criminal, who was helped by four others, used the social media to threaten and extort young boys.

The criminals pretended to be young girls and flirted with the boys online and obtained pictures of them in indecent poses.

Police officers formed an investigation team to arrest the culprits. “We received a case from another country through the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) about a person in Bahrain who was threatening and extorting children on social media. The suspect photographed children in indecent poses and then threatened and extorted them. An investigation team was formed to monitor the online accounts and identify and locate the owners. Investigators found that an anonymous person was using 34 Facebook accounts, 12 mobile phones, and a Blackberry phone,” the Interior Ministry’s Al Amn channel said, quoting a senior police officer.

“An arrest warrant was issued from the Public Prosecution. After the suspects’ arrest, investigators learned that four other people were assisting the suspect, each person had a certain role in the crime ring. The first suspect had interacted with the victim, photographed him in indecent poses and then sent the video to one of the other suspects. They would threaten and extort the victim. The suspect that made contact with the victims pretended to be a teenage girl and asked them to perform sex acts with him through the Internet. After the arrest of the suspect, they were referred to the Public Prosecution and the charges were filed against them, “ the officer added.

After he was jailed, the culprit expressed regret over his actions. “I was sentenced to 10 years in jail. When I was outside, I didn’t realise that what I was doing was a mistake. It was wrong, I wish I could go back in time to correct what I did. I was happy outside, I could do whatever I wanted, but now everything has stopped. There is a difference between being outside and locked up here. I hope no one else makes the mistakes that I did. Just one  second you spent outside is better than a 1,000 years in jail, “ the jailed culprit said.