New Delhi, Oct 30: The Delhi Police has arrested 944 people and registered 1,032 cases during a two-day crackdown on cybercrime, with investigations linked to 4,002 complaints involving alleged fraud of around Rs 479 crore, officials said on Friday.
The sixth edition of Operation CyHawk, conducted on October 28 and 29, also saw 788 people bound down and notices served on another 2,081, taking the total number of people dealt with to 3,813, they said.
As many as 4,979 suspects were detained or rounded up for verification across the national capital during the operation, which involved all 15 police districts, the Crime Branch (Cyber) and the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit.
Police registered 596 fresh FIRs and took action in 432 old cases, as well as four Kalandras, officials said.
Of the 4,002 cybercrime complaints worked out, 727 were from Delhi and 3,275 from other states and Union Territories, involving an alleged cheated amount of Rs 479.14 crore.
A total of 283 police teams travelled to at least 17 states and five Union Territories to conduct raids and apprehend suspects, targeting organised networks involved in supplying mule bank accounts, fraudulent SIM cards, illegal call centres and laundering money through cash and cryptocurrency. The operation recovered 1,037 mobile phones, 1,301 SIM cards, 106 laptops and computers, 397 ATM cards, more than 244 bank kits and passbooks, 325 Aadhaar cards, six SIM boxes, 11 cars and 10 two-wheelers.
Police seized Rs 37.67 lakh in cash, besides gold and cryptocurrency, officials said.
According to police, the operation focused on dismantling the infrastructure supporting cyber fraud rather than targeting only individuals making fraudulent calls. It aimed to identify account suppliers, bank insiders, SIM card providers, call centre operators, and those involved in moving the proceeds of crime.
Major cases included a Jamtara-linked credit card syndicate busted in Dhanbad, a matrimonial fraud gang operating from Durg-Bhilai, mule-account suppliers in Kanpur and Greater Noida, and account facilitators in Mumbai, Lucknow, Rajasthan and Punjab.
Police said several districts uncovered networks in which fraudsters set up fake firms to open current accounts and supply them to cyber fraudsters for commissions.
In the North-West District, police arrested bank officials allegedly involved in facilitating mule accounts, while South District police took action against service-agency insiders suspected of misusing customer data.
Outer-North District police busted a network involved in fraudulently obtaining SIM cards in other names. Police took action against different forms of cyber fraud, including fake KYC calls, phishing messages, fraudulent mobile applications, online shopping and investment scams, matrimonial frauds, loan-app sextortion and impersonation of corporate executives and government officials.
Police also dismantled illegal call centres operating from Dwarka, South-West and East districts. One of the centres busted by the East District police was allegedly being operated from a moving vehicle to evade location tracking.
Officials said the IFSO unit seized SIM boxes allegedly used for bulk fraudulent calls and took action against fraudulent investment links and Telegram channels dealing in cryptocurrency, eSIMs and bank accounts.
The operation was based on inputs from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), and the Samanvaya and Pratibimb portals, which helped police identify suspicious bank accounts, mobile numbers and cybercrime hotspots.
Police said the number of fresh FIRs registered during CyHawk 6.0 increased by around 24 per cent compared to the previous edition held on June 16 and 17, while complaints worked out rose by around 46 per cent. Action in complaints originating outside Delhi increased by approximately 57 per cent.
With the latest operation, the total number of arrests across the six editions of CyHawk has crossed 3,300, officials said.
The investigation continues to trace the money trail, identify handlers operating from abroad, attach proceeds of crime, and recover money lost by victims.
