Mumbai : The Mumbai Police have uncovered a massive interstate digital fraud racket in which a gang posing as officers from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) duped victims of over ₹1.1 crore. Six suspects were arrested from Gujarat and Rajasthan in a joint operation after a detailed technical investigation.
How the Fraud Worked
The scam came to light after a Mumbai resident filed a complaint stating that he received multiple WhatsApp voice and video calls from individuals claiming to be NIA and ATS officials. The fraudsters accused the victim of involvement in money laundering and threatened to freeze his bank accounts unless he transferred money for “verification.”
Under pressure, the victim transferred around ₹70 lakh to various bank accounts within three days.
Police Investigation & Arrests
The R.A. Kidwai Road Police launched a swift probe, tracing the digital footprint of the accused and freezing 15 bank accounts, recovering approximately ₹10.5 lakh.
Following an interstate operation, police arrested six key members of the gang:
Suresh Kumar Magnalal Patel (51)
Musran Iqbalbhai Kumbar (30)
Chirag Maheshbhai Chaudhary (29)
Ankit Kumar Maheshbhai Shah (40)
Vasudev alias Vivan Valjibhai Barot (27)
Yuvraj alias Marco Lakshman Singh Sikrawar (34)
Police identified Yuvraj alias Marco as the prime mastermind who had been running the operation for the past two to three years.
Modus Operandi
The gang’s operation was highly organised — they procured SIM cards, opened fake current accounts, and sold these to cybercriminals on lease for up to a year. This setup allowed scammers to create convincing identities and transfer money through multiple channels, making detection difficult.
So far, police have linked the group to 31 cybercrime cases across 13 states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Telangana, Jharkhand, Delhi, Haryana, Kerala, and West Bengal.
Public Warning
DCP (Zone IV) RagaSudha has cautioned citizens that no law enforcement agency ever demands money over phone calls or WhatsApp.
People are urged to verify the identity of any caller claiming to be from a government agency and to report such incidents immediately to the nearest police station.
Next Steps
The accused have been booked under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Police expect more arrests as investigations continue into the wider network of digital fraud across states.
