Operation Octopus: 104 culprits involved in cyber crimes nabbed from 16 states

Hyderabad: Hyderabad Cyber Crime police have carried out multiple raids in a 10-day special operation codenamed `Operation Octopus,' and arrested 104 accused involved in thousands of cyber fraud cases across the country. The analysis of 151 bank accounts linked to the accused were used in investment, trading and digital arrest scams, where the victims had lost about 127 crore.Investigators used digital forensics and bank transaction analysis tools to map the flow of illegal funds before carrying out the raids. Those arrested include 86 mule account holders, who allowed their accounts to be used for laundering, 17 account suppliers, who procured the credentials, and a relationship manager from Bandhan Bank, accused of facilitating the opening of fraudulent accounts. Police say the accused were connected to at least 1,055 cyber crime cases booked nationwide.
The raids were carried out by 32 special teams led by inspector-rank officers. Police seized 36 lakh cash, 204 mobile phones, 141 SIM cards, 152 bank passbooks, 234 debit and credit cards, 26 laptops and 56 stamps during the raids carried out in 16 states, including, Maharashtra, Delhi, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Odisha.Police have urged citizens to remain vigilant against unsolicited investment offers, trading platforms promising unrealistic returns and callers posing as law-enforcement officials demanding money. Victims were also advised to contact the Cyber Crime helpline ‘1930' or file complaints at cybercrime.gov.in. Further raids have been planned as leads emerge.