The unearthing of the largest cyber fraud syndicate by the Ludhiana Police Commissionerate on Friday is considered to be the only network on such a big scale busted ever in North India. The arrest of 132 persons on Friday with the recovery of a fleet of luxury vehicles, laptops and electronic devices, has signalled a well-planned organised crime network.
“Obviously, another Jamtara, the phishing capital of India, was in the making in Ludhiana. The Ludhiana police have prevented this organised cyber fraud network from further spreading like Jharkhand’s Jamtara, as the region had once gained nationwide notoriety for running network of cyber frauds across the country,” Ludhiana Commissioner of Police (CP) Swapan Sharma told The Tribune here on Friday.
The scale of this network was seemingly more than Jamtara as nationals of Europe and North America were being targeted by opening two satellite centres in the industrial capital of Punjab. These centres were running for the past about two-and-a-half months only. Hence, busting the network has broken the backbone of the syndicate, the CP asserted.
“Nabbing 132 persons at one go along with recovery of electronic equipment and over Rs 1 crore shows scale of the operation. Acting on credible information, several police teams were formed to conduct simultaneous raids at the two centres near Sandhu towers and Silver Oak,” Sharma said.
He maintained that since the hawala network was involved, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax (I-T) Department had also been informed so that probe into the financial trail could be conducted.
“Three hawala operators from Ludhiana have also been arrested for facilitating the hawala money and they have been operating the network on a large scale. Several hawala operators other Ludhiana and other districts are on police radar and soon, they will also be arrested,” the CP said.
Further investigation is also underway regarding digital evidence, money trail analysis, proceeds of crime, hawala transactions, cryptocurrency links, ownership and tenancy verification of premises used for operation of the call centres and identification of other suspects and facilitators connected with the racket.
“I reiterates commitment towards strict and sustained action against cyber criminals, organised fraud syndicates and illegal financial networks operating within the state” Sharma said.
Police sources said during a probe, over 300 bank accounts, most of them mule accounts, having Rs 16 crore have been frozen for investigation purposes. The accounts were recently opened to facilitate transfer of illegal money. “Now, each and every account opened in different banks across the country are under scanner. The police probe may also bust a network of mule accounts,” added police sources.
Cops conduct raids in Delhi
CP Swapan Sharma said key headquarters of the syndicate was said to be in Delhi and Gujarat. Police parties were already dispatched to Delhi to trace the centre. More arrests were likely in the case in coming days.
