UP man cheated in bitcoin scam, threatens to blow up Miami airport; arrested

Lucknow: An 18-year-old man was detained by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) today for making several calls to US' Miami airport, threatening to blow it up, an official said.

Legal action has been initiated against him, senior ATS officer Asim Arun said.

"The accused had purchased Bitcoins worth USD 3,000 but someone cheated him in the process, following which he lodged a complaint with the FBI in the United States, but did not get a desired response," he said.

Frustrated, the accused made several calls to the Miami airport and threatened to attack it. "I will come with AK-47, grenade, suicide belt and kill everyone," the man said in his calls.

The FBI responded to the man's complaint and spoke with him, but he continued making threat calls to the Miami Airport using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Repeated calls were made between October 2 and October 31, the senior police officer said.

The accused was then traced by the UP police on the basis of his IP address. During interrogation, the man confessed to his crime, the senior ATS official said, adding that the man will now be charged in court.

The senior cop clarified that Section 41A of the CrPC or Code of Criminal Procedure does not require arrest.

The UP Anti-Terror Squad, addressed a press conference confirming the incident, but did not disclose the identity of the accused.