SURAT: The Surat Range Cyber Crime Police have arrested eight individuals allegedly involved in an extensive online fraud operation with connections to a Chinese cybercrime network. The arrests follow the defrauding of a young man from Olpad taluka in Surat district, who lost ₹14.84 lakh in a social media-based task scam.
According to DySP A M Parmar, the victim was lured through Telegram with promises of completing simple online tasks for lucrative returns by individuals posing as representatives of a fake DLF company. After initial trust-building through small payments, the accused persuaded the man to deposit significant sums with the promise of higher returns, which never materialised.
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The case is part of a wider web of cybercrime, with 29 FIRs lodged across 12 Indian states against the gang. Police Inspector P A Suthar’s investigation led to the arrest of operatives from Ahmedabad and Indore, revealing a chain of account providers, SIM card collectors, and cryptocurrency agents used to launder stolen money.
Among those arrested are:
Ashok Arjanbhai Parmar (Ahmedabad) and Dilipchand Sumerlal Raw (Indore) – rented out bank accounts.
Altaf Husen Ansar Ahmad Shaikh and Qureshi Mohammad Faizal Mohammad Hasan (Ahmedabad) – arranged SIM cards.
Atif Istiyakbhai Ajmeri and Salman Habibkhan Pathan (Ahmedabad) – involved in crypto-related laundering.
Safwan Abdulrauf Shaikh and Altamas Makbul Shaikh (Ahmedabad) – provided credit cards collected from various sources.
The police seized 14 mobile phones, 47 credit cards, 6 debit cards, and a diary with detailed transaction records. Authorities emphasised the growing use of social media platforms to lure victims and the integration of cryptocurrency to mask digital money trails.
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The police continue to investigate links with international handlers and Chinese operatives suspected of orchestrating similar scams across India.
