What Happened in Junagadh
- Gujarat’s Junagadh range police, as part of Operation Mule Hunt, busted a massive cyberfraud racket that defrauded victims across India of over ₹253 crore through online scams.
- Investigators traced the fraud through hundreds of “mule accounts” — bank accounts opened by unwitting or complicit individuals and used to receive and transfer stolen funds to scam operators.
👮 Arrests Made
- Eight suspects have been arrested so far in connection with this cyberfraud network.
- An additional suspect who was already in Surat jail is expected to be brought to Junagadh for questioning as part of the ongoing probe.
📊 How the Scheme Worked
- Technical analysis found that more than 360 bank accounts were used nationwide to process the fraudulent transactions tied to various online scams.
- Accounts from several major banks were involved, including those at PNB, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, and Axis Bank — funds were moved strategically to conceal the money trail.
🧠 What Police Are Doing Now
- Cybercrime investigators are continuing detailed examinations of all identified accounts and tracking connections to other suspects and scam networks.
- Officials have appealed to the public not to open or use bank accounts for unknown third parties, as such accounts can be misused for fraud.