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Kochi, Oct 30 (IANS) In a massive campaign to curb the growing menace of online fraud, Kerala Police on Thursday arrested 263 people across the state under ‘Operation Sai Hunt’, a coordinated action aimed at dismantling cyber crime networks.
Announcing the details, ADG Police S. who led the operation. Sreejith said police teams registered 382 cases during the operation, which targeted those who acted as a medium for fraudsters to rent out or sell their bank accounts or withdraw the scam proceeds through checks and ATMs.
Sreejith said, “Overall, people have suffered a loss of around Rs 300 crore. The victims include people from outside the state, while the accused are all from Kerala. We will not stop here; instead, we will extend our investigation outside Kerala.”
The raids, which began at 7 am on Thursday and continued till late night, covered several districts.
In Ernakulam Rural, police made 43 arrests, the highest among all the districts.
The highest number of arrests, eight each, were recorded from Kothamangalam and Muvattupuzha, followed by Aluva, Edathala and Perumbavoor (four each) and Thadiyitparambu (three).
A total of 102 places were searched.
In Kalady, police arrested Aneesh (40) of Kavalangattuthara House, Srimoolanagaram, in whose account Rs 76.38 lakh was received through 24 transactions from multiple sources.
Investigators said the account served as a mule account through which money was withdrawn for organized cyber crime, both through checks and electronic transfers.
In Kothamangalam, Mohammed Yasin (22) of Vattakkudi, Inchur, was arrested and remanded after Rs 2.97 lakh was transferred to his account through fraud.
In Muvattupuzha, the deceased include Ajna (35) of East Vazhapilli, Shamim (22) of Mulavoor in his late 20s.
Police said these individuals were part of a larger network assisting organized cyber criminals by providing access to local bank accounts.
The ADGP said similar state-level operations will continue until cyber crime “mule networks” are completely neutralized.
–IANS
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