2 held from Goa for 'running cyber fraud-cash conversion racket', Rs 40 lakh trail uncovered

With the arrest of two men from Goa, the Delhi Police on Friday claimed to have busted an interstate cyber-fraud-and-cash-conversion racket.

Police said transactions worth nearly Rs 40 lakh routed through the network have also been uncovered.

Accused Arjun Lal Yadav (29) and Deependra Mahala (25), both residents of Rajasthan, were apprehended from South Goa's Madgaon following a multi-state operation, an officer said.

The syndicate operated across Delhi, Goa and Rajasthan, and allegedly converted proceeds of cyber fraud into physical cash through commercial establishments in Goa, he added.

''The investigation began after a complainant reported that his mobile phone was compromised during what appeared to be a routine software or system update. Criminals subsequently gained unauthorised access to the accounts linked to the complainant and his mother's bank accounts and siphoned off Rs 1.5 lakh within minutes,'' the officer said.

The victim got a complaint lodged through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, following which an FIR was registered at the Cyber police station of Outernorth district. During investigation, police traced Rs 98,000 of the defrauded money to a fuel station located in Vasco in South Goa.

Police said the accused allegedly ran a structured cash-conversion racket through a dedicated phone number active on social-media platforms. Fraudulent online transfers were allegedly routed to commercial entities and, after the confirmation of payment, equivalent amounts were handed over in cash after the deduction of commissions.

''A technical analysis and a scrutiny of digital transactions revealed that nearly Rs 40 lakh were already processed through this network,'' the officer said.

Acting on technical-surveillance and local-intelligence inputs, a police team conducted a raid in South Goa and arrested the two men. During interrogation, the accused disclosed that the money converted into cash in Goa was allegedly sent onward to senior handlers in Rajasthan.

Police have seized Rs 1.95 lakh in cash, a Mahindra Thar SUV, a laptop, four mobile phones, three ATM cards and three cheque books from the accused.

''The number allegedly used for coordinating fraudulent transactions was found active on one of the seized mobile phones. Further investigation is underway to identify the entire network, trace the money trail and apprehend other members of the syndicate,'' the officer said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)