Sambalpur: In a major crackdown on organised cybercrime, Odisha Police have unearthed a ₹133 crore-plus money trail linked to cyber fraud across three districts, exposing a structured network that routed illicit funds through mule bank accounts.
Investigators identified over 300 suspected mule accounts in Sambalpur alone using data analysis from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C). Of these, 140 accounts have been verified, revealing transactions worth approximately ₹110.30 crore, while verification of the remaining accounts is underway.
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So far, 20 accused have been arrested and 32 others served notices. Transactions linked to just 52 of these accounts amount to around ₹75.36 crore, indicating the scale of the organised operation.
In Bargarh, police busted a major mule account racket in a single case involving nearly ₹10 crore in fraudulent transactions. Since the launch of the drive, nine additional cyber fraud cases worth over ₹5.03 crore have also been detected.
In the biggest breakthrough, police arrested Manoj Kumar Kushal (35) for allegedly opening and operating multiple bank accounts used to channel fraud proceeds. A raid led to the seizure of 57 passbooks, 19 cheque books, 81 ATM cards and 26 SIM cards, pointing to a coordinated banking-kit based cyber network.
Across the district, authorities have verified 1,062 suspected mule accounts across banks and registered 10 cognisable cases. Separate cases have also been filed against PoS agents and others accused of issuing SIM cards used in digital arrest scams and impersonation frauds.
In Rourkela, intensified enforcement resulted in 10 cybercrime cases being registered across police stations, with fraudulent transactions exceeding ₹8.14 crore detected so far.
Police said the operation aims to dismantle mule account networks and will continue until February 27. Citizens have been advised to report cyber fraud immediately via the National Cyber Crime Helpline 1930, the cybercrime.gov.in portal, or the nearest police station or cyber cell to enable timely fund tracing and recovery.
The crackdown highlights how cybercrime has evolved into an organised financial ecosystem using layered transactions, bank accounts, SIM cards and fake identities to conceal money trails. Authorities indicated that further arrests are likely and that monitoring of banking and telecom channels will be intensified.
About the author — Suvedita Nath is a science student with a growing interest in cybercrime and digital safety. She writes on online activity, cyber threats, and technology-driven risks. Her work focuses on clarity, accuracy, and public awareness.
