MUMBAI: Two people have been arrested after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) carried out searches at 35 locations across several states including Maharashtra as part of its crackdown on online cyber fraud networks. The central agency has dismantled three cyber networks which were targeting Indians as well as people living abroad, including in the United States of America (USA).
On Friday, the CBI arrested two alleged key members of the fraud rackets, each involved with a separate crime network. One of the busted networks, being operated in New Delhi, Ghaziabad ( Uttar Pradesh) and Karnataka under the domain name of ‘eservicemoi-Kw’ was allegedly duping victims by claiming to help Indians secure e-visas and lucrative jobs in Kuwait.
Search operations led to the recovery and seizure of electronic devices including laptops, mobile phones, computer hard disks containing allegedly fake Kuwaiti e-Visas and job appointment letters. The CBI also recovered ₹60 lakh cash from one of the accused persons and arrested an alleged key operative, Suraj Srivastava.
The second network the CBI dismantled was being operated from New Delhi and was targeting victims in the US. Electronic devices including laptops, mobile phones and computer harddisks, containing incriminating digital evidence relating to the crime, were recovered and seized from the accused. CBI officials arrested an alleged key operative, P Peter, from the spot.
In its third operation, the CBI cracked down upon another cyber fraud network from India and abroad to target foreigners. The fraud network used several mule bank accounts to acquire the proceeds of crime, and investigations revealed that the accused used fake identities to dupe victims.
“The operation has resulted in significant disruption and dismantling of major transnational cyber-enabled financial crime networks,” a CBI official said on Monday. The official added that the agency’s searches were conducted in Maharashtra, New Delhi, Bihar, Karnataka, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Telangana and West Bengal.
The CBI operation was launched in coordination with the enforcement authorities of the USA, United Kingdom, Kuwait, Ireland and Singapore, whose citizens had allegedly been targeted by the cyber fraudsters under the scanner. CBI officials on Monday said America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Interpol helped in the countrywide probe internally known as ‘Operation Cystrike’. CBI officials said the probe aimed at acting against cyber crime networks using sophisticated technology and the help of foreign law enforcement agencies.