Gandhinagar, May 23 (IANS) A major coordinated cybercrime investigation in Gujarat has led to the arrest of 13 accused allegedly linked to a cyber fraud network involving transactions worth over Rs 631.86 crore through mule bank accounts, shell companies and multi-state operations, officials said on Saturday.
The action was carried out under ‘Operation Mule Hunt 2.0’ by the Cyber Centre of Excellence following directives from senior police officials amid a rise in cybercrime cases across the country.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Rajdeepsinh Jhala said the operation was launched on the basis of technical analysis and human intelligence inputs and executed simultaneously across Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Bharuch and Rajkot.
He said four separate FIRs had been registered over the last four days, leading to the arrest of 13 accused.
“The teams acted in a coordinated manner based on technical and human intelligence inputs under supervision, leading to simultaneous arrests across multiple districts,” SP Jhala said.
According to the police, verification of 45 bank accounts linked to the accused through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCCRP) revealed 982 cyber fraud complaints registered across India, with more than 200 FIRs lodged in different states.
The total fraudulent transactions linked to the network are estimated to be worth more than Rs 631.86 crore.
Police said one group allegedly operated through a structured setup using a firm named ‘Saurath Overseas’, under which mule bank accounts were opened to route illicit funds.
Investigators stated that Madhavji Kotadiya, in coordination with Vimal Jada, allegedly used breached databases sourced from Telegram channels and other online platforms to obtain banking customer IDs and mobile numbers, which were then allegedly used to target victims with fake credit card offers.
“Vimal Jada is accused of contacting victims using social engineering techniques, obtaining OTPs from them and subsequently changing bank account passwords to gain unauthorised access. Once access was secured, the funds were allegedly withdrawn and transferred into mule accounts operated by the network,” SP Jhala told IANS.
A separate syndicate based in Ahmedabad and Surat allegedly used firms including ‘SNB Aqua Shipping Private Limited’, ‘Zeppelin Overseas Shipping Private Limited’ and ‘DKG Creation and Technologies Gujarat’ as fronts to open mule bank accounts.
Police said these entities were used to route cyber fraud proceeds and launder money in exchange for commissions.
During raids, details of multiple bank accounts and official records were recovered.
Another module allegedly operated from Vadodara and Bharuch, where individuals used accounts opened under names such as ‘Air Conditioning Hub’ and ‘Works Global’.
According to the police, these accounts were allegedly used to transfer and circulate cybercrime proceeds in exchange for commission payments.
Officials said preliminary interrogation revealed that members of the network earned commissions ranging from four per cent to eight per cent for facilitating fraudulent transactions.
The accused are believed to include mule account holders, handlers and coordinators involved in transferring funds through multiple layers.
Police further stated that the network was linked to several categories of cybercrime, including online financial fraud, internet banking fraud, UPI scams, investment fraud and deposit-related fraud.
Analysis of NCCRP data revealed that complaints were registered across multiple states, including Gujarat (77), Maharashtra (137), Karnataka (126), Uttar Pradesh (87), Tamil Nadu (83), Telangana (64), Delhi (53), Rajasthan (47), West Bengal (46), Haryana (38), Kerala (37), Andhra Pradesh (24), Bihar (23), Madhya Pradesh (19), Odisha (16), Jammu and Kashmir (12), Jharkhand (12), Punjab (12), Chhattisgarh (10), Assam (8), Goa (7), Himachal Pradesh (6), Uttarakhand (5), Puducherry (3), Meghalaya (2), Arunachal Pradesh (1), Tripura (1) and Sikkim (1), taking the total number of complaints nationwide to 982.
Among those arrested from Ahmedabad and Surat were Manish Lodha (39), Ankit Lodha (28), Naveen Vaishnav, Mohit Nahar, Madhavji Kotadiya, Nayan Italia, Nimesh Jetani and Vimal Jada.
From Vadodara and Bharuch, Arbaz Pirzada, Faizan Sodagar, Kasifali Sheikh and Mohammad Memon were arrested, while Hardik Sarvaiya was arrested from Rajkot.
Police said the seized material included 28 mobile phones, 39 cheque books linked to different bank accounts, one passbook, two laptops, 12 ATM/debit cards and four stamps belonging to multiple firms, including SNB Aqua Shipping Private Limited, Zeppelin Overseas Shipping Private Limited and DKG Creation and Technologies.
SP Jhala noted that the investigation had revealed a structured cybercrime ecosystem operating through fake firms and mule accounts to conceal illegal proceeds.
“Further investigation is underway to trace the flow of funds and identify remaining associates involved in the network,” he added.
Authorities reiterated that citizens should never share bank account details or OTPs with anyone.
