Gujarat police busts Rs 632cr cyber mule network; 13 arrested from Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot

Gandhinagar: A massive cyberfraud money trail running into more than Rs 631.86 crore has led Gujarat Police to 13 accused spread across four cities in the state. Investigators allege the group opened bank accounts using fake or proxy firms and used them to move proceeds of online frauds. Police say the accounts surfaced in 982 cybercrime complaints filed across India. The operation uncovered links to investment frauds, UPI scams and internet banking fraud.

The crackdown was carried out by the Gujarat Police's Cyber Centre of Excellence under "Operation Mule Hunt 2.0". The cops arrested 13 accused from Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, and Rajkot over the past four days for allegedly opening fake or proxy bank accounts used to receive and route cybercrime proceeds.

Investigators said the accused opened multiple accounts in the names of firms and individuals, received money linked to online frauds, withdrew the cash and then moved it further through angadia channels to other members of the network.

According to police, the accounts linked to the accused were checked on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP), where 982 complaints from across India were found connected to the network. Officials said the complaints collectively point to cyberfraud worth over Rs 631.86 crore.

Of the 982 complaints, Maharashtra accounted for 137, Karnataka 126, Uttar Pradesh 87, Tamil Nadu 83, Gujarat 77, Telangana 64 and Delhi 53 complaints.

The arrested accused include Ankit Lodha, 28, from Ahmedabad; Manish Lodha, 39, Navin Vaishnav, Mohit Nahar, Nayan Italiya, Nimesh Jietani and Vimal Jata from Surat; Madhav Kotadiya and Hardik Sarvaiya from Rajkot; and Arbaz Pirzada, Faizan Saudagar, Kasifali Shaikh and Zuber Memon from Vadodara.

Police said one group allegedly created a firm, ‘Saurath Overseas’, and opened mule accounts in the company's name. Investigators claimed the accused procured bank customer IDs from leaked databases and Telegram groups, contacted victims with fake credit card offers, obtained OTPs and reset banking credentials to gain access to accounts.

The stolen funds were then allegedly transferred into mule accounts and withdrawn.

Another group allegedly floated firms including SNB Acqua Shipping Private Limited, Zeppelin Overseas Shipping Pvt Ltd and DKG Creation and Technologies Gujarat to open bank accounts and channel cyberfraud money in exchange for commission. Police also alleged that some accused used entities such as "Air Conditioning Hub" and "Works Global" to facilitate illegal fund transfers.

During raids, police seized 28 mobile phones, 39 cheque books linked to multiple bank accounts, one bank passbook, two laptops, 12 ATM or debit cards and four company seals.

Officials said the accused were aware that the accounts were being used to move cybercrime proceeds. Police suspect the network was linked to multiple fraud categories, including online investment scams, internet banking fraud, UPI fraud and deposit-related scams.