10 held as Guj Police busts interstate cyber scam of Rs 53 cr; mule accounts supplied to Baba Siddique murder accused

Gandhinagar, May 5 (IANS) An interstate cyber crime racket involving fraud of over Rs 53 crore and linked to 132 complaints across the country has been busted, with 10 accused arrested from Anand and Ahmedabad, Gujarat’s Cyber Centre of Excellence (CID Crime) said on Tuesday.

Acting on instructions to intensify action against rising cyber offences from DGP K.L.N. Rao, a team was constituted under the supervision of Superintendents of Police Dr Rajdeepsinh Zala, Sanjay Keshwala and Vivek Bheda.

Officials said technical surveillance led to the arrest of 10 key operatives who were working on a commission basis by facilitating the transfer of funds obtained through cyber fraud.

“Based on technical surveillance, 10 main accused involved in handling funds obtained through cyber crimes on a commission basis have been arrested,” officials said.

During the investigation, it was found that approximately Rs 53.55 crore was involved in 132 cyber complaints registered across multiple states.

Examination of the accused’s mobile phones revealed details of 197 bank accounts.

Of these, 60 bank accounts were found to have been used in more than 132 cyber crime offences nationwide, involving fraud of around Rs 53.55 crore.

According to the police, the accused used to lure individuals into renting out their bank accounts, which were then used to route illicit funds.

The offences included investment fraud, UPI-related fraud and trading fraud.

State-wise data showed 22 complaints in Gujarat, 14 in Karnataka, 13 in Maharashtra, 10 each in Uttar Pradesh and Kerala, nine in Rajasthan, eight in Tamil Nadu, seven each in Haryana and West Bengal, six each in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, five in Delhi, three each in Bihar and Punjab, two each in Assam, Chhattisgarh and Odisha, and one each in Puducherry, Jammu and Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh.

Those arrested include Krupal Desai, Nizamuddin Diwan, Moin Malek and Sahilmia Malek from Petlad in Anand district; Sohil Malek of Borsad; Jignesh Patel and Vanraj Bharwad from Kanjari in Kheda; Tushar Valand of Boriavi in Anand; Rickren, also known as Rocky or Pandit Patel, from Mahudha in Kheda; and Akash Patel of Kathwada in Ahmedabad.

Police said 11 mobile phones, three cheque books, three passbooks and three debit cards were seized from the accused.

In a related development, investigators said one of the accused, Sahilmia Malek, had provided a Karnataka Bank account belonging to Salman Vhora to individuals accused in the high-profile murder case of late Maharashtra politician Baba Siddique.

Salman Vhora has been arrested by Maharashtra Police in connection with that case.

Appealing to the public, the police said, “If any person or agent asks for bank accounts or SIM cards on rent on any pretext, inform the nearest police station or cyber crime authorities.”

They further cautioned, “Do not give your bank account, ATM card or cheque book on rent under any temptation from unknown persons,” and advised people not to trust social media advertisements offering unusually high returns in a short period.

Officials also urged victims to act quickly in case of cyber fraud.

“In case of any cyber crime, contact the cyber helpline number 1930 during the ‘golden hour’ (first one hour) to help save your hard-earned money. Reporting within the golden hour can help hold approximately 50 per cent more funds,” they said.

–IANS

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