As the investigation progressed, Surat Cyber Crime officials traced the suspects to Odisha with digital evidence, bank records and technical surveillance. A coordinated operation led to the arrest of five accused, suspected to be involved in the operation of the fraudulent network.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that the gang maintained connections across Odisha and West Bengal and used multiple identities, shell entities and bank accounts to hide the flow of money.
Police said the arrested accused are habitual cyber criminals with criminal records in several states. They were earlier booked in cyber fraud cases registered in Karnataka, Bengaluru, Odisha and West Bengal. Investigators are now looking into whether the gang has links to larger organized cybercrime networks operating across the country.
Addressing the media, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Sweta Daniel explained how the scam was executed.
“The complainant was added to a WhatsApp group where members were promised huge profits through stock market investments. He was asked to open an account on a fake trading website after which the login credentials were given. Trusting the platform, he invested around Rs 27 lakh in multiple installments,” said ACP Daniel.
She added that the investigation exposed the involvement of a fake private company that was set up to facilitate the fraud.
“During investigation, we found that a bogus private company was being used as part of the operation. The investigation led our team to Odisha, where five accused were arrested. All of them have criminal history and are involved in cyber crime cases registered in Bengaluru and several other states,” she said.
Highlighting the scale of the financial trail, the ACP said investigators had identified massive transactions linked to the gang.
“More than Rs 6.53 crore was transferred through the bank account used by the accused. We have also found that 149 cyber fraud complaints from across the country have already been registered against the same account,” said ACP Daniel.
The five accused are currently in police custody and further investigations are underway to identify other members of the syndicate, trace the ultimate beneficiaries of the fraud, uncover additional bank accounts used for money laundering and determine the full extent of the interstate cybercrime network.
Police are also analyzing digital devices, financial records and communications records seized from the accused to identify more victims and determine whether the gang was simultaneously operating multiple fake investment platforms. Officials have not ruled out the possibility of further arrests as the investigation continues.
