Delhi cyber crackdown: 113 held in Rs 22 crore fraud probe; NRI duped in fake ticket scam

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police have busted multiple inter-state cyber and financial fraud syndicates, including a racket that duped an NRI in a fake air ticket booking scam, as part of a major crackdown under Operation Cy-Hawk-04 in the South-West district.

The large-scale operation, led by the Cyber Police Station with support from district units, resulted in the arrest of 113 accused across 57 cases.

Investigators linked 303 complaints registered on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) to mule bank accounts and mobile networks used by the fraudsters, uncovering a fraud trail of over Rs 22 crore.

Police also managed to freeze around Rs 17 lakh in beneficiary accounts and recovered cash, luxury vehicles, digital devices and forged documents during coordinated raids.

In one of the key cases, police dismantled a syndicate targeting NRIs through fake online travel bookings. The accused allegedly lured victims via social media platforms, including an Instagram page posing as a ticketing service, and offered discounted international flight bookings.

DCP (south west) Amit Goel said, “A complainant was cheated of Rs 3.8 lakh while attempting to book tickets for his Canada-based brother.”

The investigation traced the operation to a network spanning Delhi, Goa and Mumbai, with the alleged mastermind, identified as Mridul Joshi, running a fake call centre and using mule bank accounts to siphon off funds. Four accused were arrested in the case, and seizures included Rs 47 lakh in cash, a Mercedes S-Class car, mobile phones, laptops, SIM cards and banking instruments. Police said the syndicate had routed transactions worth over Rs 43 lakh through accounts linked to multiple victims.

In another breakthrough, a transnational fake loan app syndicate was unearthed, leading to the arrest of six accused.

The gang allegedly used mule accounts and UPI IDs to collect money from victims and was found to be in contact with foreign handlers using virtual numbers from Pakistan and Bangladesh. The accused reportedly extorted victims by accessing their personal data and threatening to circulate morphed images.

Police said the operation involved extensive technical surveillance, analysis of digital footprints, financial trails and coordination with service providers. A total of 488 individuals were rounded up for questioning, while notices were issued to over 160 people linked to the financial chain of the fraud networks.

Officials added that 23 fresh FIRs have been registered and several ongoing investigations have received crucial leads. Further arrests and recovery are expected as police continue to probe the wider interstate and international links of the cyber fraud syndicates.