Operation Mule Hunt 2.0: Gujarat Cyber Cell Arrests Four in ₹161 Cr Cyber Fraud Case

The Cyber Centre of Excellence (CCOE), Gandhinagar, has arrested four persons from Ahmedabad and Surat in separate cybercrime investigations involving alleged mule bank accounts and the hacking of the Bhavnagar District Co-operative Bank as part of Operation Mule Hunt 2.0, officials said on Friday.

The arrests were made during a statewide crackdown targeting cybercrime syndicates that allegedly use bank accounts opened in the names of individuals and firms to launder proceeds of online fraud.

Operation Mule Hunt 2.0

According to the Cyber Centre of Excellence:

• 55 accused have been arrested during the past month.
• Investigators have linked the accused to cyber frauds worth more than ₹802 crore.
• Analysis of bank account details on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP) traced 1,117 cybercrime complaints across the country.

Officials said the operation targets account holders, operators and facilitators who allegedly provide bank accounts used to receive and transfer money obtained through cyber fraud.

Ahmedabad man held in ₹161-crore mule account case

In one investigation, police arrested Vishal Sureshbhai Dodiya, a resident of Vastral in Ahmedabad.

According to investigators:

• He allegedly registered a firm named Chamunda Communication using fabricated credentials.
• Three bank accounts were allegedly opened in the firm's name.
• The accounts were allegedly handed over to members of a cybercrime syndicate for routing proceeds of online fraud.

Police said scrutiny of the accounts on the NCCRP portal revealed:

• 253 cybercrime complaints.
• Alleged fraud exceeding ₹161 crore.

The complaints originated from 22 states and Union Territories, including:

• Gujarat
• Maharashtra
• Karnataka
• Telangana
• Uttar Pradesh
• Rajasthan
• Tamil Nadu
• Delhi
• Kerala
• Andhra Pradesh
• Punjab
• West Bengal

Two arrested in Bhavnagar bank hacking case

In a separate investigation, the Cyber Centre of Excellence arrested:

• Mohammad Khaliq Ghulam Hussain (40).
• Shoyab Gulab Nabi Rana (38).

Both are residents of Surat.

Police alleged the duo was part of a conspiracy in which hackers:

• Gained unauthorised access to the Bhavnagar District Co-operative Bank servers.
• Accessed the bank's database and core banking system.
• Manipulated electronic records.
• Created fictitious account balances.

Investigators alleged that an artificial balance of ₹7.34 crore was transferred to multiple bank accounts, causing substantial financial loss to the bank.

The two accused allegedly provided and operated bank accounts used to route the funds.

Fourth accused arrested in separate mule account probe

The Cyber Centre of Excellence also arrested Afzal Pir Mohammad Mansuri, a resident of Gomtipur in Ahmedabad.

According to investigators:

• Examination of mobile phones seized during the investigation led to 197 bank accounts.
• Of these, 60 accounts were allegedly linked to 132 cybercrime cases across India.
• The cases involved alleged fraud worth approximately ₹53.55 crore.

Police alleged Mansuri acted as an account operator and facilitated the withdrawal and laundering of money generated through cyber fraud.

Officials said 10 accused have already been arrested in the case and are currently in judicial custody, while the investigation into the wider network continues.

Investigation continues

The Cyber Centre of Excellence said investigations in all three cases are continuing to identify additional members of the cybercrime syndicates, trace the money trail, and recover the proceeds of crime.