Gujarat Police will launch Operation Mule Hunt 2.0 across all districts from Tuesday, 3 June 2025, escalating its crackdown on mule bank accounts that cybercriminals use to receive, transfer, and launder money siphoned through online frauds. The decision was formalised at a statewide review meeting chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi via video conference on Monday night.

High-Level Review Drives the Push

The meeting was attended by Director General of Police K.L.N. Rao, along with all city police commissioners and district police chiefs, who joined virtually. According to officials, strict instructions were issued to carry out what was described as a 'surgical strike' on mule accounts across the state, with the twin goals of protecting citizens from cyber fraud and dismantling the financial networks that sustain organised cybercrime. The gathering was, according to sources, a periodic enforcement review — but one that has now translated into a statewide operational directive.

What Operation Mule Hunt 1.0 Uncovered

The renewed drive builds directly on the findings of Operation Mule Hunt 1.0, a month-long campaign conducted by the Gujarat Police Cyber Centre of Excellence between 1 December and 31 December 2025. That operation unearthed cyber fraud transactions worth ₹2,289 crore, registered 565 FIRs, and resulted in the arrest of 638 accused. Investigators took action against 913 mule accounts and linked them to more than 4,000 cybercrime cases across the country — underscoring the national scale of networks that operate through Gujarat-based financial conduits.

Early Breakthroughs in 2025

Even before the formal statewide relaunch, Operation Mule Hunt 2.0 had already yielded significant results this year. Separate crackdowns uncovered cyber fraud networks involving transactions worth ₹53.55 crore and more than ₹288 crore, leading to multiple arrests across Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, and Anand. Investigators found that organised groups were routing illicit funds through extensive mule account networks tied to online scams.

How Mule Accounts Enable Cybercrime

Police officials explained that mule accounts form the financial backbone of cyber fraud operations, enabling criminals to move stolen funds through multiple transactional layers and making the money trail difficult to trace. Investigators have been drawing on data from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal, and the cybercrime helpline 1930 to identify suspicious transactions and map fraud networks.

What the New Phase Targets

The latest phase of the operation will focus specifically on identifying, freezing, and dismantling mule account networks operating across Gujarat. With the state's police machinery now mobilised at the district level, authorities are signalling a sustained enforcement posture rather than a one-off drive. How effectively the 2.0 phase translates intelligence into prosecutions — and whether conviction rates keep pace with arrest numbers — will determine its long-term deterrent value.