Hyderabad: The Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) on Wednesday,arrested 101 people, including 18 women, in a 14-day coordinated operation against interstate cybercrime networks across six States and Union Territories. The teams have so far traced fraudulent transactions worth Rs 17 crore through mule accounts, with 1,172 cybercrime links identified.
The operation began on September 23 and covered Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Puducherry. It was the second such simultaneous multi-state operation led by the Bureau, which has said it is intensifying efforts to trace networks that exploit multiple jurisdictions. Six special teams of more than 100 TGCSB personnel were deployed.
Shikha Goel, Director of TGCSB, said the arrests were linked to 51 cases registered across the Bureau’s seven Cyber Crime Police Stations (CCPS).
State-wise arrests
Kerala: 35 | Andhra Pradesh: 22 | Karnataka: 17 | Tamil Nadu: 14 | Telangana: 12 | Puducherry: 1
Mule accounts at the centre
Investigators said fraudsters obtained “mule” bank accounts through agents and intermediaries, then used them to receive, transfer and withdraw defrauded money. Channels included ATM withdrawals, bulk transfers and overseas-linked transactions. Of those arrested, 19 were identified as agents and 81 as mule account holders. Account holders and intermediaries were allegedly paid commissions of up to 5% of the amount routed through their accounts.
The Bureau has traced 1,172 crime links across India, 206 of them connected to Telangana. Of the 101 arrested, 50 are linked to more than five crime links nationwide.
Profile of the accused
Goel said 82% of those arrested were aged 20 to 50, and 17% were above 50. By occupation, business or self-employment was the largest group at 23%, followed by private employment (13%), homemakers (10%), drivers and operators (7%), and sales and marketing (5%).
By education, 26% had completed intermediate education, 24% were graduates, 16% had secondary education, and 11% were uneducated. Diploma or ITI holders made up 7%, those with primary education 4%, and postgraduates and those with professional or other qualifications such as B.Tech and Nursing 3% each.
What the accused told police during preliminary questioning
During preliminary questioning, the accused made several disclosures, where a Flipkart employee allegedly allowed his bank account to be used for fraudulent transactions in return for a commission. The account is linked to 50 cybercrime cases across India.
A Marketing Head of the Manju Group of Companies was linked to 15 cases nationwide.
Trust accounts opened in the names of NGOs were allegedly misused to receive and transfer cybercrime proceeds, which are linked to 60 cases.
An employee of Tata Capital allegedly acted as an agent, arranging mule accounts for fraudsters for a commission. Another person in the money-exchange business is alleged to have done the same.
An ex-serviceman is linked to six cases, a diploma-holder in Film Technology to 26 cases, and a businessman to 34 cases.
Officials said the fraudsters operated in close coordination, working for long hours with little more than a mobile phone or keypad to lure, deceive and extort victims across the country. Proceeds were quickly diverted into separate accounts after each offence.
TGCSB sources said the network shares data, crime links and contacts across states, and that a large-scale operation is being run from international networks. They said further arrests are expected, and that Look Out Circulars (LOCs) will be issued against wanted international operators. More fraudulent amounts are also expected to be traced.
Police seized several mobile phones, SIM cards, bank passbooks and cheque books allegedly used in the fraudulent transactions.
Shikha Goel commended B. Sai Sri, IPS; Biksham Reddy, Additional SP; and K.V. Surya Prakash and K.V.M. Prasad, DSPs, of TGCSB Headquarters. She also praised the field officers: M. Venkata Ramana (SHO, CCPS Warangal), Ch. R.V. Phaneendar (SHO, CCPS Khammam), N. Venu Gopal Reddy (D4C Sangareddy), K. Ramesh (SHO, CCPS Karimnagar), P. Raju (SHO, CCPS Siddipet) and K. Venkataiah (D4C Suryapet), along with their teams, for their coordination and precision in planning and executing the operation.
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