The Cyber Police in Gujarat's Kutch district have dismantled an organised interstate cyber fraud syndicate with the arrest of 13 suspects allegedly linked to an Rs 8.46 crore online fraud ring, The 420 reported. Acting on financial tracking data, investigators froze Rs 3.82 crore deposited across several bank accounts associated with the network, preventing a large part of the money from being withdrawn or transferred further. Inventiva reported the same arrest and freeze figures.

Source: The 420

The breakthrough came after a formal cyber fraud complaint was registered with the district cyber police unit. Teams carried out a forensic review of transactions, analysing technical parameters, digital footprints, active mobile numbers and suspicious bank accounts, and cross-referencing transaction records to connect account handlers with the callers who contacted victims.

Source: Inventiva

Guided by the electronic evidence and mobile location tracking, police teams launched simultaneous raids at multiple locations and apprehended the 13 accused. Investigators are examining the role assigned to each suspect, separating those who allegedly solicited victims directly from intermediaries who supplied bank accounts and money mules who moved the funds through digital payment channels. The allegations are yet to be tested in court.

Preliminary findings indicate the network allegedly used several methods to cheat people: fake investment schemes promising unrealistic returns, digital-arrest tactics that intimidated victims with threats of immediate law-enforcement action, part-time task and job offers, and calls from people impersonating bank officials.

During the raids, police seized mobile phones, SIM cards, laptops, chequebooks and debit cards from the arrested suspects. The devices and banking documents are undergoing forensic examination to identify additional accounts, communication records, payment gateways and call logs used to coordinate the operation.

The investigation is now widening. Detectives are checking whether the same bank accounts appear in cyber fraud complaints registered in other states, and financial details are being shared with the respective state cyber divisions to trace mutual links. Police said the return of the frozen money to victims will depend on legal and procedural formalities, and efforts continue to trace the remaining funds and identify other members of the syndicate.