Mangaluru (Karnataka), March 11 (NationPress) - The Cyber Crime Police in Mangaluru have apprehended two individuals on charges of gathering bank accounts from the public, falsely claiming they would be utilized for a trading venture, but instead, these accounts were exploited for cyber fraud activities connected to foreign operators.

During the operation, authorities confiscated four mobile devices, 18 debit cards, 17 bank passbooks, six cheque books, 1,479.31 units of USDT cryptocurrency, and a Maruti car from the suspects.

The detained individuals have been identified as Mohammed Aneesh (30), son of Abdul Khader, residing in Kasaba Bengre, Kuloor Post, and Saleeth Ahmed M. (32), son of Ahmed Mustafa, a resident of 7th Block, Surathkal, both located in Mangaluru.

The arrests were executed in relation to a case filed at the Mangaluru City Cyber Crime Police Station under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act and Sections 308(5), 318(4), 319(2), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

According to the police, the case emerged after Mohammed Sinan, a city resident, lodged a complaint on March 10, alleging that his acquaintances, Mohammed Aneesh and Saleeth Ahmed, had acquired his bank account information by claiming it would be for a trading purpose. However, his account was subsequently misused for cyber fraud.

Following the complaint, the police initiated an investigation. They gathered and analyzed technical evidence, enabling them to locate and arrest the suspects in Mangaluru.

The investigation indicated that the accused had amassed numerous bank accounts from the public to facilitate cyber fraud operations.

Investigators revealed that the suspects procured USDT cryptocurrency at lower rates from individuals in India and then sold it at inflated prices to cyber fraudsters in China, utilizing contacts made via WhatsApp and Telegram.

These Chinese cyber criminals allegedly funneled money acquired from cyber scams targeting Indian citizens into the bank accounts supplied by the suspects.

To enable these transactions, the suspects were actively gathering bank accounts from the public within Mangaluru. The police stated that the accused were fully aware that these accounts were being used for illicit activities.

Whenever banks froze accounts due to complaints, the suspects reportedly sought out new bank accounts to persist in their fraudulent operations.

Upon further examination of the confiscated mobile devices and subsequent questioning, the police discovered that the suspects had obtained over 70 bank accounts from individuals in Mangaluru and nearby areas.

Out of these accounts, 37 have already been flagged on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), with over 88 complaints lodged from various regions across the country.

The police confirmed that additional investigations are ongoing to trace the financial transactions conducted through these bank accounts and to identify any other individuals involved in the network.