Gujarat Police's Cyber Centre of Excellence arrested four individuals from Ahmedabad and Surat on 3 July in separate probes into mule bank accounts used for cyber fraud and the Bhavnagar District Co-operative Bank hacking case, exposing a cybercrime network operating across multiple states. The arrests form part of Operation Mule Hunt 2.0, under which the Cyber Centre of Excellence of CID Crime has detained 55 accused over the past month.

Scale of the Fraud Network

According to police, verification of the arrested individuals' bank accounts on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP) revealed links to 1,117 cyber fraud complaints registered nationwide, involving alleged fraud worth approximately ₹802 crore. The complaints span states from Maharashtra and Karnataka to Arunachal Pradesh and Jharkhand, underscoring the pan-India reach of the syndicate.

The Ahmedabad Mule Account Case

In one of the cases, police arrested Vishal Dodiya of the Vastral area in Ahmedabad. Investigators alleged that Dodiya registered a fictitious firm named Chamunda Communication and opened three bank accounts in the firm's name across different banks. The account details were allegedly shared with members of a cyber fraud syndicate, who used them to receive and transfer money obtained through online fraud targeting victims in multiple states.

Checks on the Cyber Crime Portal found that the Chamunda Communication accounts were linked to more than 253 cybercrime cases across India, involving an estimated ₹161 crore in fraudulent transactions. Complaints originated from 56 cases in Maharashtra, 28 in Karnataka, 23 in Gujarat, 20 each in Telangana and Uttar Pradesh, 18 in Rajasthan, 16 in Tamil Nadu, 14 in Delhi, and 13 in West Bengal, among others. Dodiya has been booked under Sections 318(4), 317(2) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act.

Bhavnagar Bank Hacking: Two Arrested from Surat

In a separate investigation into the Bhavnagar District Co-operative Bank hacking case, investigators alleged that accused persons illegally accessed the bank's server, database, and core banking system, manipulated electronic records, created fictitious account balances, and transferred over ₹7.34 crore to various bank accounts. 'The transfers caused financial loss to the bank while generating unlawful financial gain for those involved,' officials said.

The probe led to the arrest of two individuals from Surat: Mohammad Khaliq Ghulam Husain (40), identified as an account holder, and Shoaib Gulabnabi Rana (38), who police said operated the account. Examination of mobile phones and bank records in this case revealed details of 197 bank accounts, of which 60 were allegedly linked to more than 132 cybercrime complaints across India involving estimated fraud of ₹53.55 crore. Ten accused in this case had already been arrested and are in judicial custody.

Fourth Accused: Mule Account Operator in Ahmedabad

Police also announced the arrest of Afzal Pir Mohammad Mansuri of Ahmedabad in connection with an earlier mule account investigation. Mansuri is alleged to have operated mule bank accounts and handled fraud proceeds after the accounts were opened through another accused. He was arrested on Friday. This brings the total arrests in the broader Operation Mule Hunt 2.0 to 55 over the past month.

What the Operation Signals

This comes amid a nationwide push by law enforcement to dismantle mule account networks — a critical layer in the cyber fraud ecosystem that allows perpetrators to launder proceeds quickly across jurisdictions. Notably, the geographic spread of complaints against a single set of accounts in Ahmedabad — covering 22 states and Union Territories — illustrates how localised mule operators serve syndicate networks with national reach. The operations were carried out by teams of CID Crime officers led by multiple police inspectors as part of the ongoing initiative.