Surat city police have arrested 77 persons during a three-day drive under “Operation Mule Hunt 2.0”, a crackdown aimed at networks involved in renting out bank accounts used to route proceeds of online fraud. Police registered 58 offences during the operation, which was carried out from Sunday to Tuesday, and linked the cases to nearly ₹24 crore in cyberfraud transactions.
Crackdown On Mule Account Networks
According to police, the operation focused on bank accounts suspected to have been used for receiving, transferring and dispersing fraud proceeds. Investigators found that only about ₹1 crore of the suspected amount could be frozen in bank accounts, underlining how quickly cybercriminals move stolen money through layered transactions.
Police said the fraud proceeds were often transferred through multiple accounts across banks and states before authorities could trace, freeze and recover the funds. The accounts allegedly belonged largely to poor people, who handed over access to fraudsters in exchange for commissions.
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Fraud Proceeds Moved Across States
Investigators said mule account holders enabled criminals to receive and disperse illicit money while concealing the identity of the main perpetrators. City police commissioner Anupam Singh Gahlaut said a similar drive against mule accounts had been conducted around six months earlier.
“In the second such operation, we started work a month ago and detected cases by resolving various technical and cyber challenges,” Gahlaut said.
The operation began around a month ago, with police gathering intelligence on suspicious accounts and the operators behind them. Multiple police teams were formed, and complaints filed on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal were examined to identify patterns and link bank accounts to specific fraud incidents.
Teams Track Accused Across India
Police also held a coordination conference with bank officials, fintech companies, telecom company officials and other stakeholders to verify account activity, trace digital footprints and identify suspects. As part of the preparation, around 500 police personnel were trained on May 16 with support from cybercrime experts and chartered accountants to strengthen technical and financial investigation capabilities.
To arrest suspects across India, 50 teams were constituted and assigned specific tasks. Using cybercrime and other investigation portals, teams traced and detained accused from Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and other states.
Gahlaut said around 60 per cent of the detected cases were related to investment fraud. He added that these frauds continued for four to five months, during which a major portion of the stolen money had already been transferred.
