Bhubaneswar: Jharsuguda police have busted an organised racket, involving mule bank accounts used to launder proceeds from cyber frauds, with the arrest of 15 persons in a coordinated operation across the district.
Suspicious transactions totalling more than Rs 5.30 crore were detected during the multi-police station operation, including Jharsuguda, Jharsuguda Sadar, Airport, Badmal, Belpahar and Lakhanpur.
According to police sources, a dedicated cyber team analysed data from mule accounts, cheque withdrawals, and ATM transactions, drawing from the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C). The arrests were subsequently executed using technical surveillance, digital tracking, and field verification.
Jharsuguda Town police arrested six accused and seized passbooks, ATM cards, and mobile phones connected to around Rs 2 crore in transactions. Airport police detained one individual linked to over Rs 3 crore in suspicious activity. The remaining arrests were made by Jharsuguda Sadar, Badmal, and Lakhanpur stations.
Additionally, notices were issued to five persons in Belpahar under Section 35(3) of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.
Investigations revealed that syndicates recruited vulnerable individuals, luring them with monetary incentives to open bank accounts in their own names. The fraudsters then took possession of the passbooks, ATM cards, SIM cards, and KYC documents (such as Aadhaar and PAN details). These “mule accounts” were exploited to receive and transfer funds siphoned from cyber fraud victims nationwide, helping conceal the identities of the masterminds behind the scams.
Jharsuguda SP G R Raghavendra described the operation as a significant blow against such networks. He urged citizens to stay alert and advised people not to “rent” their bank accounts, ATM cards or UPI IDs for money, as this can make them part of a crime. He also advised people to to report any unknown or suspicious money credited to their accounts immediately to the bank and police. “Victims of cyber fraud should call the national helpline (1930) or lodge a complaint at www.cybercrime.gov.in without delay to help authorities freeze the stolen funds,” he added.
