Mumbai Police on Friday announced that they have busted an interstate cyber fraud gang and arrested six people in Gujarat. All of them were allegedly involved in digital arrest cases, including one of India’s biggest ‘digital arrest’ scams. ₹58 million.
Police said a team of Mumbai police arrested the suspects from Mehsana and Ahmedabad in Gujarat in recent days.
According to preliminary investigations, the key accused was in contact with fraudsters based in China and Cambodia who instructed him which bank accounts to use and how to transfer the siphoned money.
Police have tracked down the suspects while investigating a case of a pensioner living in central Mumbai who was defrauded. ₹70 lakh under threat of ‘digital arrest’.
A case has been registered at the RAK Marg police station in Mumbai and a full investigation has been launched into the matter.
“Digital arrest” is a form of cybercrime in which fraudsters impersonate law enforcement officials or employees of government agencies and intimidate victims through audio/video calls. They hold victims hostage and pressure them to pay money.
India’s Biggest ‘Digital Arrest’ Scam.
Investigations further revealed that the same gang was responsible for what is believed to be one of India’s biggest “digital arrest” scam cases. A 72-year-old businessman was cheated out of a massive ₹58 million.
The businessman and his wife were held under “digital arrest” by the accused, who posed as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials for two months.
Police said the accused would first park the fraudulent money in two bank accounts before transferring it to 138 subsequent accounts and converting it to cryptocurrency and US dollars.
Besides impersonating CBI and ED officials, the accused also claimed to be senior officials of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), Delhi and the National Investigation Agency (NIA). They even posed as NIA chief and senior IPS officer Sadananda Date.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 4) Ragasudha R said the accused include Sureshkumar Maganlal Patel (51), Musran Iqbalbhai Kumbhar (30), Chirag Mahesh Choudhary (29), Ankit Kumar Maheshbhai Shah (40), Vasudev alias Vivan Waljibhai and Yulias Marco and Yulias Barot (29). Laxman Singh Sikarwar (34).
“Juvraj is a gang leader who was in direct contact with the multinational accused persons,” she said.
The DCP added that he had been involved in cyber fraud for the past three years and was getting 3% commission for the frauds.
The official further said that Yuvraj recruited local businessmen and shopkeepers who had current bank accounts, used those accounts to park the money from the scams and offered them 3% commission.
