Gandhinagar: Gujarat’s Cyber Centre of Excellence in Gandhinagar arrested three more accused in a mule account racket linked to cyber frauds worth over Rs 2.9 crore across 18 states. Investigators alleged the group floated fake business entities, opened multiple corporate bank accounts and supplied account kits, sim cards and other banking tools to cyber fraudsters.According to police, the accused enabled transactions linked to 54 cyber fraud complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP). The probe has identified 72 mule accounts so far, with 22 accounts linked to 54 complaints on the portal. Officials said three complaints involved victims from Gujarat.Police said the arrested accused were identified as Ahmedabad residents Nikunj Patel, Dikshit Patel and Sumit Soni. Nikunj allegedly helped establish the firms and open corporate accounts for monetary gains. Police said Dikshit Patel played a key role in registering the entities and distributing account kits and is suspected to be the mastermind of a Rs 38 lakh “digital arrest” fraud reported in Maharashtra. Soni allegedly acted as an intermediary, forwarding the kits and earning commissions. Authorities added that at least two more suspects remain absconding.Police said the accused set up two bogus firms and operated from offices on Ashram Road and near CTM in Ahmedabad. Through these entities, they allegedly opened 12 corporate accounts in different banks and arranged nearly 50 additional mule account kits before they could be used.Among the significant cases linked to the network, police cited an internet banking deposit scam worth Rs 93 lakh reported from Bihar and an investment fraud of Rs 70 lakh reported from Karnataka.The network’s modus operandi allegedly involved digital arrest scams, investment and trading frauds, UPI fraud, deposit fraud, job scams, phishing through APK files and online shopping fraud. Police said cybercriminals used a DOTP.APK file to obtain OTPs.Investigators also flagged the alleged use of merchant ID (MID) accounts to prevent mule accounts from being frozen, claiming payment gateway approvals were manipulated to conceal mule account details. Seized items include six mobile phones, eight cheque books, 31 debit and credit cards, and a laptop.
