Mumbai Police has busted a cyber fraud gang that was extorting money from people through “digital arrests”. Police have exposed this crores of rupees racket by arresting six accused in Gujarat. The accused used to threaten the elderly and businessmen by posing as officials of central agencies. They targeted hundreds of people across the country.
Police investigation has revealed that this gang was in direct contact with masterminds sitting in China and Cambodia. The main accused used to receive instructions from abroad regarding bank accounts and money transfer. The network worked so systematically that the defrauded funds were transferred to 138 bank accounts, then converted into cryptocurrencies and US dollars, ensuring a clandestine route of funds. This entire racket came to light when a senior citizen lodged a complaint at RA Marg police station in Mumbai. He told that some people impersonating government officials arrested him digitally through audio and video calls. Then they extorted ₹70 lakh from them by threatening them. The police registered the case and started investigation and the network of fraud reached Gujarat.
A team of Mumbai Police conducted raids in Mehsana and Ahmedabad and arrested six accused. The accused have been identified as Sureshkumar Maganlal Patel (51), Musran Iqbalbhai Kumbhar (30), Chirag Mahesh Chaudhary (29), Ankit Kumar Maheshbhai Shah (40), Vasudev alias Vivaan Valjibhai Barot (27) and Yuvraj alias Marco alias Laxman Singh Sikarwar (34).
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 4) Ragasudha R, the gang leader was Yuvraj, who was in direct contact with international criminals. He was involved in cyber fraud for the last three years and earned 3 percent commission on each fraud. He also targeted local businessmen with current bank accounts and transferred fraudulent funds from their accounts, in return for a small commission.
The investigation also revealed that the gang was involved in a high-profile digital fraud in which a 72-year-old businessman and his wife were kept under “digital arrest” for two months and extortion of ₹58 crore was done from them. The accused repeatedly threatened the businessman by posing as CBI, ED and NIA officers. He also claimed that the businessman’s name has cropped up in the investigation of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
The digital data recovered from this gang also revealed that the accused had committed fraud in at least 31 cases across the country. These cases were reported in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Agra, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Telangana, Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana, Kerala and West Bengal. So far, 15 bank accounts have been seized and around ₹10.5 lakh has been seized during the Mumbai Police investigation.
Preliminary investigation has also revealed that the mastermind sitting abroad used to send APK files to the victims. After downloading these files, cyber criminals gain complete control over the victim’s phone. They used her personal information and device access to put psychological pressure on her. Now Maharashtra Police Cyber Cell has taken over the investigation.
