Eight held under Operation Mule Hunt 2.0 in Gujarat; ₹288 crore cyber fraud network unearthed

The accused were identified as Mukesh Mer, Faridkhan Nasirkhan Pathan, Akshay Patel, Devendra Patel, Chetan Naranbhai Amalani, Jatin Kakkad, Kapilbhai Kotak, and Mahendra Kokiya. Investigations said they knowingly allowed their bank accounts to be used for illegal financial transactions in exchange for commissions, opening accounts in their own names or procuring accounts of others to park and transfer proceeds of cyber crimes while masking the identity of actual perpetrators.

Arrests made in Rajkot were connected to 26 cyber fraud complaints and an FIR involving fraud worth ₹59.79 lakh, the statement added.

In Unjha, the accused were linked to 125 cyber fraud complaints involving transactions of more than ₹114 crore, as per data available on national cyber crime reporting platforms.

In the cases linked to Surat and Bhavnagar, the accused were found connected to 181 cyber fraud complaints registered across the country, with 81 FIRs lodged in various states. The fraud amount in these cases alone was estimated to be over ₹174 crore, officials said.

In the last month alone, 40 people have been arrested in Gujarat in connection with 1,039 cyber fraud complaints involving a total fraud amount of ₹622 crore under 'Operation Mule Hunt 2.0'.

Eight persons were arrested from Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Unjha in Gujarat as part of 'Operation Mule Hunt 2.0', a CID Crime Cyber Centre of Excellence drive to crack down on organised cyber crime networks. The arrests occurred over several days prior to the announcement, and the suspects were allegedly involved in opening and operating mule bank accounts to facilitate transfers of funds from various cyber frauds, with funds subsequently laundered through hawala and angadia channels. The operation led to the detection of cyber crime networks handling more than ₹288 crore.