Tamil Nadu Police arrest 837 in 48-hour cyber fraud crackdown
The Cyber Crime Wing (CCW) of the Tamil Nadu Police arrested 837 people during a 48-hour “State-wide Special Drive against Mule Account Holders” that began on August 6. The operation was aimed at identifying persons involved in opening, operating, and facilitating the misuse of bank accounts for receiving and withdrawing proceeds from cyber fraud.
The drive was conducted across all districts and cities on the instructions of Director-General of Police and Head of the Police Force Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal. It is part of ongoing efforts to address the rising number of cybercrime complaints in the state. Special teams of the CCW carried out the operation, using accused profiling through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) and the Pratibimb portal of the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The NCRP is a national platform where citizens can report cybercrime complaints, while the Pratibimb portal is used by law enforcement agencies to track and analyse cybercrime data. Police said the profiling was strengthened through financial data analysis and bank fund-trail linkages, allowing investigators to connect specific bank accounts to fraudulent transactions and trace the flow of money through the cybercrime network.
“Mule accounts are bank accounts used by cybercriminals to receive, transfer, layer, or withdraw money obtained through fraudulent and illegal activities. Individuals who allow their bank accounts to be used for such transactions facilitate the movement of illicit funds,” Dr. Aggarwal said.
These accounts are often opened by individuals who may be unaware of the criminal use, or are knowingly rented or sold to criminal networks. Cyber fraudsters rely on mule accounts to distance themselves from the money trail, making it harder for authorities to detect and recover stolen funds.
Investigators targeted individuals linked to 9,804 complaints involving fraudulent transactions amounting to more than ₹545 crore. The 837 arrested persons were involved in 601 cases. In addition, 157 new FIRs were registered across the state to curb the operation of mule bank accounts for facilitating cyber fraud.
During the drive, police seized 204 mobile phones and other storage devices, some cash, and bank documents from the premises of the accused. Dr. Aggarwal described the arrests as a significant achievement in disrupting and dismantling the organised cybercrime network operating in Tamil Nadu.
The operation was directly supervised from the police headquarters by Additional Director-General of Police, CCW, Bala Naga Devi, to ensure seamless coordination and real-time monitoring throughout the drive.
Police are now analysing the digital evidence and interrogating the arrested persons to uncover deeper layers of the criminal network and identify associates operating in other states. Efforts are also on to trace and apprehend other members, recover defrauded funds, and establish wider linkages with nationwide cybercrime operations, the police said in a statement. The investigation is expected to continue in the coming weeks.
