Op Mule Hunt 2.0: Gujarat Police arrest four in cyber fraud, Bhavnagar bank hacking cases
Ahmedabad/Surat, July 3 (IANS) Gujarat Police’s Cyber Centre of Excellence has arrested four people from Ahmedabad and Surat in separate investigations into mule bank accounts used for cyber fraud and the Bhavnagar District Co-operative Bank hacking case, uncovering a cybercrime network across the country.
The action forms part of “Operation Mule Hunt 2.0”, under which the Cyber Centre of Excellence of CID Crime said it has arrested 55 accused over the past month.
According to police, verification of their bank accounts on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP) showed they were linked to 1,117 cyber fraud complaints registered nationwide involving alleged fraud worth around Rs 802 crore.
In one case, police arrested Vishal Dodiya of the Vastral area in Ahmedabad. Investigators alleged that he registered a fake firm named Chamunda Communication and opened three bank accounts in the firm’s name at different banks.
The account details were allegedly shared with members of a cyber fraud syndicate, who used them to receive and transfer money obtained through online fraud targeting people in different states.
Police said checks on the Cyber Crime Portal found that the Chamunda Communication bank accounts were linked to more than 253 cybercrime cases across India involving an estimated Rs 161 crore in fraudulent transactions.
The complaints include 56 from Maharashtra, 28 from Karnataka, 23 from Gujarat, 20 each from Telangana and Uttar Pradesh, 18 from Rajasthan, 16 from Tamil Nadu, 14 from Delhi, 13 from West Bengal, eight from Kerala, seven from Andhra Pradesh, five each from Assam and Punjab, four from Bihar, three each from Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, two each from Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Uttarakhand, and one each from Arunachal Pradesh and Jharkhand.
Police said the accused has been booked under Sections 318(4), 317(2) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act.
In a separate investigation into the Bhavnagar District Co-operative Bank hacking case, investigators alleged that the accused illegally accessed the bank’s server, database and core banking system, manipulated electronic records and created fictitious account balances before transferring over Rs 7.34 crore to various bank accounts.
“The transfers caused financial loss to the bank while generating unlawful financial gain for those involved,” officials said.
During the investigation, police said they found bank accounts allegedly used to receive and route cyber fraud proceeds.
Examination of mobile phones and bank records led to the arrest of two people from Surat, Mohammad Khaliq Ghulam Husain (40), identified as an account holder, and Shoaib Gulabnabi Rana (38), who police said operated the account.
Police also announced the arrest of another accused in an earlier mule account investigation.
Investigators said analysis of mobile phones seized during the probe revealed details of 197 bank accounts, of which 60 were allegedly linked to more than 132 cybercrime complaints across India involving estimated fraud of Rs 53.55 crore.
According to police, the complaints were registered in Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Punjab, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Puducherry, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.
Police said 10 accused in the case had already been arrested and are in judicial custody.
The latest arrest is that of Afzal Pir Mohammad Mansuri of Ahmedabad, who is alleged to have operated mule bank accounts and handled fraud proceeds after the accounts were opened through another accused.
He was arrested on Friday in connection with the investigation. “The operations were carried out by teams of CID Crime officers led by multiple police inspectors and investigating officers as part of the ongoing Operation Mule Hunt 2.0,” officials noted.
–IANS
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