Mumbai Police Busts ₹24 Cr Cyber-Fraud Ring: 3 Arrested, 2,898 SIMs Seized!
Mumbai Police Busts ₹24 Cr Cyber-Fraud Ring: 3 Arrested, 2,898 SIMs Seized!
Mumbai Crime Branch uncovers a massive cyber-fraud operation, arresting three key individuals involved in a ₹24 crore scheme using thousands of mule accounts and SIM cards. Read more!
The Mumbai Police Crime Branch has apprehended three individuals accused of supplying "mule" bank accounts and SIM cards to a vast cyber-fraud network. This intricate operation is suspected of handling a staggering ₹350 crore in illicit transactions.
The arrested men, identified as Islamuddin Salimuddin Sheikh (44), Yasir Nasiruddin Sheikh (26), and Abdul Razzaq Abdul Rauf (42), were taken into custody by Crime Branch Unit 5 on September 11. They have since been remanded to police custody until September 19 by the Esplanade court.
A case has been registered at Malad Police Station under various BNS provisions, including cheating, criminal conspiracy, and abetment.
Additionally, Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, which addresses cheating by personation using digital devices, has been invoked.
DCP (Detection) Raj Tilak Roshan explained the accused's modus operandi: they would acquire bank accounts and SIM cards from other individuals, often paying a commission, and then either use these themselves or supply them further up the cyber-fraud chain. They acted as both buyers and sellers, moving these essential tools of fraud between lower-level procurers and higher-level operators.
The investigation has revealed a much wider network, with transactions estimated around ₹350 crore. Specifically, investigators have tracked approximately ₹24 crore in suspected cyber-fraud transactions through just 10 bank accounts linked to the arrested individuals. Disturbingly, 32 cybercrime complaints related to these accounts have been found on the national cybercrime reporting system, linked to the 1930 helpline.
The Crime Branch Unit 5 initiated its probe after receiving intelligence that the accused were obtaining bank accounts, opened both in their own names and those of others, along with associated SIM cards. They would then seize control of the passbooks, ATM cards, cheque books, and SIM cards, using them to channel the proceeds of online fraud.
A significant discovery from the investigation is the alleged use of an astonishing 2,899 SIM cards for various cyber fraud activities. During the operation, police confiscated 88 bank passbooks, 143 cheque books, 100 ATM cards, 167 SIM cards, 24 mobile phones, two laptops, and other banking-related documents.
The sheer volume of seized material suggests the potential for uncovering even more accounts, victims, and cybercrime complaints.
The Crime Branch Unit 5 is actively continuing its investigation to identify both the suppliers who provided the accounts and SIM cards to the arrested men, as well as the higher-level operators who received them, in an an effort to dismantle the entire fraudulent network.
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