Visakhapatnam: Visakhapatnam police have arrested another key suspect in the ongoing investigation of a sophisticated criminal network that targeted numerous high-profile individuals of the Port City over the past five years.

Police apprehended Polamarasetti Ratna Raju, CEO of Global ITC Company, described as a key mastermind in the criminal network, in the airport area. Investigators have traced the financial transactions between Ratna Raju and the gang’s alleged leader Joy Jamima, who has already been arrested.

According to police, the gang devised a complex scheme targeting men in positions of influence. Victims would allegedly be drugged, photographed in compromising situations, and subsequently blackmailed for large sums of money. Those who refused to pay faced escalating threats, including forced divorce proceedings, coerced marriages, robbery of valuables, and in some cases, physical violence or attempted murder.

The investigation has already resulted in the detention of several of the accused, including Bachu Venu Bhaskar Reddy and Avinash Benjamin, apart from Joy Jamima and Ratna Raju, who have been remanded in Visakhapatnam Central Jail.