Raipur, April 14 : The Dantewada police in Chhattisgarh have dismantled a large interstate cyber fraud gang involved in the wholesale trading of mule bank accounts, officials said.

Four key accused were arrested from Rajasthan and brought to Dantewada on transit remand.

The arrests mark a significant success in the fight against rising cyber crimes that have affected victims across multiple states.

The gang was primarily engaged in buying and selling hundreds of bank accounts used as mule accounts to siphon off money from cyber fraud victims. The accused created WhatsApp accounts using international mobile numbers to facilitate these illegal transactions.

Funds obtained through various cyber scams were deposited into these accounts and later withdrawn in cash from ATMs abroad using debit cards with high transaction limits.

Dantewada Superintendent of Police Gaurav Rai, Additional SP R.K. Barman, and Cyber Cell Nodal Officer DSP Gaurav Singh led the operation. A joint team from Barsur, Bacheli, and Gidam police stations, headed by Inspector Sanjay Ursa, was dispatched to Rajasthan earlier this month.

After meticulous tracking through financial transaction analysis and advanced cyber forensic tools, the team successfully nabbed the accused. The arrested individuals have been identified as Archit Gujarati (20), resident of Nakas Gate, Nagaur; Adil Hussain (24), from Bachchakhada, Nagaur; Amit Verma (21), from Village Kariri, Jaipur; and Bhupendra Jangid (23), from Balaji Nagar, Jodhpur, all in Rajasthan.

From their possession, police seized mobile phones, SIM cards, ATM cards, and cash amounting to Rs 1,18,500 earned through fraudulent means. More than 20 cyber fraud complaints have been registered against the gang in states including Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Karnataka.

The investigation revealed that the racket was being operated mainly from the Nagaur region in Rajasthan. Dantewada police are actively conducting awareness campaigns in towns and villages, educating people about various cyber threats such as banking frauds, part-time job scams, and the dangers of sharing OTPs or suspicious links.

/IANS