Mumbai Crime Branch arrested 12 people after busting an alleged cyber fraud operation from a villa near Goa’s Calangute Beach. Police said over 150 mule bank accounts involving suspected transactions worth around ₹500 crore are under scrutiny. The racket, allegedly controlled by a Sri Lanka-based handler, is suspected to be linked to 83 cyber fraud cases.
The Mumbai Crime Branch’s Unit-2 has busted a major cyber fraud racket allegedly operating from Goa while investigating a cyber fraud case registered at Pydhonie Police Station. Police raided a luxurious 2,000-square-foot villa near Calangute Beach and arrested 12 accused. The investigation revealed that the villa was allegedly being used as a training and operations centre for cyber fraud. The probe has also revealed that the alleged mastermind behind the racket is based in Sri Lanka. Police suspect that crores of rupees generated through various cyber frauds were being routed to Dubai from the Goa-based operation.
The accused allegedly carried out different types of cyber fraud, including digital arrest scams, WhatsApp DP-related frauds and APK file-based frauds. The money collected through these frauds was allegedly transferred to Dubai. One of the arrested accused, Iliyaz Memon (38), is a Mumbai resident, while the remaining 11 accused are residents of Ahmedabad and Rajkot in Gujarat. The accused had allegedly rented the 2,000-square-foot villa in Goa for around ₹1 lakh per month. Police suspect that the villa had been rented for the past six to eight months.
According to investigators, the accused were allegedly paid a 3% commission on transactions routed to Dubai, apart from a monthly salary of around ₹25,000 to ₹30,000. Police said the accused were living a lavish lifestyle. Investigators are now examining whether similar cyber fraud call centres are operating from villas located near beaches in Goa. The development has raised concerns over whether cyber fraud networks are gradually shifting their operations to Goa.
According to police, the investigation began after information was received that money was being routed through mule bank accounts in the Pydhonie area. Since the fraud proceeds were being transferred through multiple bank accounts, investigators began tracing the upper links of the money trail.
During the investigation, police found that records maintained by the accused in notebooks were being transported to Goa by bus. Based on this information, the Crime Branch traced the operation to the villa in Calangute and conducted the raid.
The Crime Branch has initiated the process of freezing bank accounts containing suspected proceeds of fraud. Police have so far initiated action involving accounts holding approximately ₹50 crore to ₹100 crore. The arrested accused have been remanded in police custody until August 11. Further investigation is underway to identify the foreign handlers, trace the flow of funds to Dubai and establish the full extent of the cyber fraud network.
https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/mumbai-crime-branch-busts-goa-based-cyber-fraud-racket-12-arrested-500-crore-transactions-under-scanner