Patan, Jun 8 (PTI) Police busted a cyber fraud racket involving illegal transactions of Rs 398.43 crore through 13 mule accounts, linked to 228 inter-state cyber fraud complaints, and arrested 14 people from Patan district of Gujarat under “Operation Mule Hunt 2.0”, officials said on Monday.
A mule account is a bank account used by scammers to receive and transfer illegally obtained money, often generated through cyber fraud, digital arrests, or investment scams.
The action was carried out as part of the state government’s drive to curb online frauds and dismantle financial networks of cyber criminals, according to a release issued by the Patan Police.
Police said an analysis of data on the Union government’s SAMANVAYA and National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP) showed suspicious transactions in certain current accounts opened at Harij Nagrik Sahakari Bank in Patan district.
Investigators discovered that some persons lured individuals with commissions to open firms and bank accounts in their names.
The account holders allegedly handed over ATM cards, cheque books, SIM cards, mobile numbers and internet banking credentials to middlemen and cyber fraudsters. These accounts were then used to channel proceeds of cyber crimes across the country, police said.
According to officials, 13 mule bank accounts, linked to 228 cyber fraud complaints registered from different states on the NCCRP portal, were found to have handled transactions of Rs 398.43 crore.
Patan cybercrime police registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita against 20 people, including 13 account holders and seven middlemen. While 14 accused have been arrested, six others are absconding, and efforts are underway to trace them. PTI Cor PJT NSK
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