Odisha Police busts cybercrime syndicate, arrests seven persons

Rourkela (Odisha), Jan 12 (PTI) Odisha Police on Monday said they busted an organised cybercrime syndicate and arrested seven members of the gang allegedly involved in large-scale money laundering and fraud using mule bank accounts.

Acting on intelligence inputs, an operation was launched, leading to the arrest of the seven accused, Rourkela SP Nitesh Wadhwani said.

"We have seized 80 passbooks, 50 debit cards, 25 mobile phones, four laptops, 10 Aadhaar cards and 20 PAN cards from the accused," he said.

A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.

Further investigation is underway to identify other members of the syndicate and possible inter-state and international links, the SP said.

According to police, the gang was engaged in procuring and operating bank accounts opened in the names of unsuspecting individuals, primarily from Rourkela and nearby areas.

These accounts were allegedly used to facilitate cybercrime and laundering of fraudulent proceeds across India and abroad, police said.

The accused reportedly arranged bank accounts, activated SIM cards and identity documents using forged papers and impersonation.

Investigators revealed that the mule accounts were sold or rented to cybercriminals across the country and used as pass-through accounts to receive proceeds of cyber fraud.

Police said the accounts were sold or rented for amounts ranging between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 per account, with the proceeds distributed among syndicate members.

These accounts were allegedly linked to around 200 cybercrime complaints registered across India, as identified through the Samanvaya portal of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Ministry of Home Affairs. PTI COR BBM BBM MNB