Gandhinagar: Gujarat’s Cyber Centre of Excellence of CID Crime has dismantled an interstate mule bank account network allegedly linked to cyber frauds exceeding Rs 77 crore across 375 cases registered on the national cyber crime reporting portal, officials said on Monday.
The operation was carried out across Vadodara, Palanpur and Goa, resulting in the arrest of 16 accused persons involved in what investigators described as a coordinated system for opening and circulating bank accounts used to facilitate cyber fraud and gaming-related offences.
The action was taken following intelligence inputs and directions from senior officers of CID Crime & Railways to strengthen anti-cybercrime operations.
According to officials, the raids were conducted under the supervision of senior police officers.
The accused allegedly opened savings and current bank accounts in their own names and in the names of others, and supplied bank account kits and SIM cards to associates involved in cybercrime networks.
Police said five accused were arrested in Vadodara, two in Palanpur, and nine in Goa.
Officials provided details, saying that five accused, identified as Kiran Joshi, Siddhraj Shirvadiya, Mahesh Joshi, Jigar Solanki and Prakash Joshi, were arrested from Vadodara.
Two others, Mitra Shrimali and Mehul Solanki, were arrested in Palanpur.
The remaining nine accused — Jitu Thakkar, Sahil Prajapati, Jaimin Prajapati, Vijay Nayi, Hitesh Thakor, Dhruv Chaudhary, Anilkumar Chaudhary, Ashish Kumar Chaudhary and Nareshkumar Kharshan — were arrested from Goa, according to officials.
Among those arrested were individuals allegedly involved in creating fictitious firms, including “Shivam Agency”, “Shivdhara Masala Business” and “M R water” to channel transactions and provide a veneer of legitimacy to financial activity routed through mule accounts.
The major kingpins are Kiran Joshi and Jitu Thakkar, and others are helping them set up Mule bank Accounts and facilitate financial transactions.
A large quantity of digital and financial evidence was seized during the operation. From Vadodara, police recovered 13 mobile phones, 13 cheque books, two passbooks and four blank cheques.
From Goa, 15 laptops, 72 mobile phones, 126 SIM cards, 115 debit cards, 80 passbooks, 15 cheque books, 7 QR codes, 2 pen drives, and 1 rental agreement were seized.
Officials said details of more than 260 bank accounts were recovered from the accused.
Investigators stated that analysis of the seized devices revealed bank statements, transaction records, login credentials, and cyber-fraud complaint documents.
They added that communication via WhatsApp and Telegram groups indicated that bank account details were being shared with individuals in Dubai and other foreign locations, suggesting possible international linkages.
Police said the syndicate was involved in multiple cyber fraud modules, including digital arrest scams, investment fraud, UPI-related fraud, deposit fraud, loan fraud, part-time job fraud and gaming fraud.
The accused allegedly operated a commission-based arrangement for supplying banking infrastructure used to receive, transfer and layer proceeds of crime.
Officials further said the accused procured bank account kits and SIM cards from genuine account holders and redistributed them within the network for illegal use.
Authorities reiterated that bank account holders remain legally responsible for all transactions conducted through their accounts.
(IANS)
