Cyber fraud gang linked to Chinese handlers busted in UP's Azamgarh, two held

Azamgarh (UP), Jan 15 (PTI) The Azamgarh cyber crime police has busted an international syndicate allegedly operating for Chinese handlers, officials said on Thursday.

Police arrested two men and recovered cash and electronic devices worth lakhs of rupees.

The accused, identified as Abhishek Gupta (30) and Shashwat Awasthi (28), both residents of Lucknow, were arrested on Wednesday. Rs 6.32 lakh in cash, 11 mobile phones, 12 ATM cards, nine cheque books, Nepal-issued SIM card, a cash counting machine and an SUV were recovered from their possession.

The officials said Gupta, the suspected key operator, was in direct contact with Chinese cyber criminals and is believed to have routed Rs 10 to “15 crore in cryptocurrency to them.

The crackdown comes after a complaint lodged on September 18 last year by Bhupendranath Yadav of Gangeapur village. Yadav he alleged his son was lured into an instant messaging application group claiming to represent a company named "WooCommerce". The victims were allegedly tricked into "investing" money on a fake website under the pretext of boosting product sales.

The victim was duped of Rs 12.64 lakh, which he transferred to multiple bank accounts on the promise of high returns. A case was registered at the Azamgarh cyber crime police station under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.

Police had earlier arrested four inter-state cyber criminals linked to the gang in October 2025. Following the trail, the cyber crime team arrested Gupta and Awasthi from the Gomti Nagar and Jankipuram areas of Lucknow on Wednesday.

The officials said the accused used the messaging app to coordinate with handlers, transferred cheated money through Indian bank accounts and converted the cash into USDT cryptocurrency to send abroad. The gang allegedly used "mule" accounts by paying commissions to holders and used virtual numbers to hide their identities.

The recovered items have been seized and the vehicle impounded under the Motor Vehicles Act. A detailed probe is underway, they added. PTI ABN AKY AKY