Bhubaneswar: City police on Sunday busted an interstate cyber fraud gang operating from the Badagada area and arrested 12 persons, seizing 60 mobile phones and other electronic devices used to cheat people across multiple states.
The crackdown was carried out jointly by the Badagada police and the Special Squad of the Bhubaneswar–Cuttack Police Commissionerate following specific intelligence inputs about organised cyber fraud activities being run from a rented house in the city.
According to Police Commissioner S. Dev Datta Singh, one of the arrested accused is from Odisha, while the others are residents of Nalanda district in Bihar and Kerala. The gang allegedly targeted victims by luring them with fake gift voucher offers, Kerala lottery schemes and fraudulent loan sanction promises.
According to investigators, the accused would contact unsuspecting victims and demand advance payments in the name of processing fees. Once the money was deposited, the victims were either blocked or misled, and the promised loans or prizes were never delivered.
The gang was operating from a rented accommodation in Badagada, which served as its main base to execute cyber frauds across different states using multiple online platforms and digital applications.
During the raid, police seized nearly 60 mobile phones — including 30 smartphones and 30 keypad phones — along with two laptops, cables, multiple scratch cards, gift cards and lottery cards. These items were allegedly used to carry out the fraudulent activities.
Police Commissioner said further investigation is underway to ascertain the total amount involved in the fraud and to identify other possible associates of the gang.
