Mumbai police have dismantled an interstate cybercrime gang responsible for multiple ‘digital arrest’ scams, apprehending six suspects from Gujarat. Among their high-profile victims was a businessman cheated of ₹58 crore, authorities said on Friday. The arrests were made in Mehsana and Ahmedabad over the past few days. Preliminary investigations reveal that the gang’s leader coordinated with fraudsters based in China and Cambodia, following their instructions on opening bank accounts and transferring illicit funds. Officials added that the suspects targeted victims across states using sophisticated digital intimidation techniques.
The police traced the gang while investigating a case in central Mumbai, where a senior citizen was defrauded of ₹70 lakh under threats of digital arrest. The RAK Marg police station registered the complaint and launched a detailed probe. ‘Digital arrest’ scams involve perpetrators impersonating law enforcement or government officials, coercing victims via audio and video calls, and forcing them to transfer money. Investigators found that the gang had also duped a 72-year-old businessman and his wife of ₹58 crore over two months by posing as officials from the CBI and Enforcement Directorate.
Authorities stated that the accused would initially deposit the defrauded money into two bank accounts before moving it through 138 accounts and converting it into cryptocurrency and US dollars. They had pretended to be top officials from ATS New Delhi, the National Investigation Agency, and even posed as NIA chief and senior IPS officer Sadanand Date. Maharashtra Cyber will now take custody of the suspects. The gang’s operations reveal a well-planned international scheme with local collaborators to facilitate money laundering and cyber extortion.
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Deputy Commissioner of Police Ragasudha R identified the arrested suspects as Sureshkumar Maganlal Patel, Musran Iqbalbhai Kumbhar, Chirag Mahesh Choudhary, Ankit Kumar Maheshbhai Shah, Vasudev alias Vivan Waljibhai Barot, and Yuvraj alias Marco or Laxman Singh Sikarwar. Yuvraj was described as the gang’s mastermind, in direct contact with transnational criminals, orchestrating scams for three years, and earning a 3% commission. Local businessmen and traders were roped in to park illicit funds through their bank accounts, enabling smooth laundering while earning a cut for their participation.
In another case, the accused deceived a 68-year-old victim from Raigad of ₹40 lakh in September, falsely claiming he was implicated in investigations related to the Pahalgam terror attacks. So far, authorities have registered 31 cases across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Telangana, Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana, Kerala, and West Bengal. Investigators have seized 15 bank accounts and frozen ₹10.5 lakh, with additional suspects still at large in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Files sent to victims’ mobile devices allowed cybercriminals to seize control and commit fraud.