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LUCKNOW: A joint operation by the Cyber Crime Cell and Cyber Crime Police Station in Lucknow has led to the arrest of eight young men allegedly operating a vast international cyber fraud racket in collaboration with Chinese cybercriminals. The racket, spanning several Indian states, has resulted in financial losses amounting to approximately ₹1.77 crore.
Fraud Network Spanning Six States
According to police sources, complainants from Haryana, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh have reported being duped through fraudulent online trading, work-from-home schemes, and digital task-based scams. The arrested individuals—identified as Rahul Sonkar (22), Mohammad Salman (28), Devansh Shukla (19), Raj Rawat (21), Faizan (21), Mojiz (21), Ankit Yadav (22), and Karan Rawat (19)—are all residents of Lucknow.
Investigations revealed that the accused acted as local operatives for Chinese handlers and communicated via encrypted Telegram channels such as “32-105/1”, “32-105/3”, and “32-105/5 PAYGir G0!”. They lured economically weaker individuals to open bank accounts under the pretext of earning money. These account details, along with associated cheque books and debit cards, were handed over to their foreign handlers.
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Money Laundered via Cryptocurrency
Funds collected from victims were swiftly transferred into these accounts and withdrawn before authorities could flag or freeze them. A significant portion of the fraudulently obtained money was converted into the cryptocurrency Tether (USDT) and routed to Chinese digital wallets. Police confirmed that this method was used to evade detection and regulatory scrutiny.
During Tuesday’s raid, authorities seized ₹1.75 lakh in cash, 12 mobile phones, 13 debit cards, two bank passbooks, and three cheque books from the suspects. An FIR has been registered under Sections 317(2), 318(4), and 61(2)(B) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Section 66C of the Information Technology Act.
The seized bank data has been uploaded to the Cyber Crime Reporting Portal for cross-verification and further legal action.
DCP-Crime Kamlesh Dixit stated that this is one of the largest inter-state cybercrime rackets uncovered in recent times, involving not only Indian operatives but also international handlers leveraging digital currency to exploit loopholes.
