GUWAHATI: Gujarat's Cyber Centre of Excellence (CCoE) has arrested a key mastermind behind a major "digital arrest" fraud network operating out of Assam, while simultaneously halting 10 live digital arrest scams unfolding across different states in real time.
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Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi announced the operation on social media, calling it a breakthrough that stopped the fraud "at both ends." The investigation linked 1,753 bank accounts and 1,042 cybercrime cases to the network, with total fraud estimated at around ₹1,173 crore.
According to CCoE, once officials reached the accused, they simultaneously detected 10 ongoing digital arrest cases running in parallel across the country. Victims were stopped before they could transfer further money to the fraudsters, and in three cases within Gujarat, CCoE teams personally reached victims' homes for immediate intervention. Some of those targeted had already broken fixed deposits and were preparing to sell shops or property to raise funds for the scammers before the timely intervention.
Speaking on the case, Vivek Bheda, SP of the Cyber Centre of Excellence, Gujarat, said a victim had approached the CCoE suspecting he might be under digital arrest. On verification, officials confirmed the victim was indeed being targeted in an active scam at that very moment. Bheda said the accused was found operating 23 different crypto accounts, with total transactions amounting to ₹16 crore. The accused was reportedly in contact with Chinese gangs, through whom the money was routed, and used an application described as a "crypto scam" platform to carry out the fraud.
Bheda said more than ₹1,000 crore worth of cybercrime was conducted through these accounts in total. He added that the CCoE counselled affected victims against making further payments, coordinated with banks to halt transactions, and apprehended the accused, all carried out simultaneously as part of the operation.