The Delhi Police said 916 people were arrested in connection with various online frauds and cybercrimes under Operation CyHawk 5.0. Addressing the media, Joint Commissioner of Police (Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations) Rajneesh Gupta said the two-day nationwide operation began on June 16. During the drive, 715 teams carried out coordinated operations across 21 states and Union Territories, including Delhi.
He said the police seized 105 laptops, 757 mobile phones, a car and cash worth nearly Rs 21 lakh during the operation. Two Nigerian nationals were also apprehended, and deportation proceedings have been initiated against them. The police said most communication and financial transactions linked to these cases were conducted through online platforms, particularly Telegram and WhatsApp channels. The operation targeted organised cybercrime networks involved in financial fraud, phishing attacks, digital scams and other forms of online deception.
The police said the complaints linked to the cases involved a cumulative fraud amount of nearly Rs 700 crore, highlighting the massive scale of cybercrime affecting victims across the country. The raids focused on dismantling two key pillars of cybercrime — mule account networks and distributors of malicious APK files. The police said mule accounts continue to form the financial backbone of cyber fraud. Fraudsters often lure vulnerable individuals through fake work-from-home offers and commission-based schemes to open bank accounts and hand over control and access to criminals.
More than 3,600 people linked to mule account operations were rounded up during the crackdown, while over 2,300 cybercrime complaints were found to be connected to such accounts.
The operation also targeted distributors of malicious mobile applications, which are increasingly being used to secretly intercept one-time passwords (OTPs) and facilitate financial fraud and unauthorised transactions.
