A shocking case of cyber fraud that began with a digital arrest scam in Raigad, Maharashtra, has now been linked to a global cybercrime syndicate operating across India, Nepal, Pakistan, Canada, China, and Bangladesh. Acting swiftly on a local complaint, Raigad Cyber Police have arrested 11 people, including telecom insiders, fake company operatives, and international collaborators.
The investigation began in May after a local citizen received a threatening video call from someone posing as an official from the Telecom Authority of India. Claiming the victim’s identity had been used for illegal activities, the scammer demanded Rs66 lakh to “settle” the issue, warning of a fake Supreme Court arrest warrant — a ploy now recognized as part of a rising trend of digital arrest scams.
“What started as a single complaint unraveled a vast network using SIP telecom lines, fake companies, and forged documents,” said Superintendent of Police Aanchal Dalal, who is leading the case.
The prime accused, Abhay Santprakash Mishra (29), a B.Tech graduate from Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, operated a network of five telecom servers that placed over 62 lakh spoofed calls in just 28 days, with 86,910 calls in Maharashtra alone. Using the alias ‘Alex’, Mishra coordinated encrypted communications via Microsoft Teams with foreign nationals to organize the scam infrastructure.
The fraud involved:
Fake companies like Nivi Cloud Pvt Ltd, Credil Info Pvt Ltd, and Oxydeal.
Telecom insiders such as Jio Sales Managers Balmori Vinaykumar Rao and Gangadhar Muttan, who accepted fraudulent documents via WhatsApp and activated fake telecom lines.
6,175 SIM cards, 26 phones, and 13 foreign numbers seized from Mohsin Mia Khan in Delhi.
Over 112 bank accounts, with Rs66 lakh already frozen.
Police also arrested a group of document forgers: Abdus Salam Barbhuyan, Nadeem Ahmed, Lairab Khan, Shadan Khan, and Mohammad Faisal Khan, who helped launder funds through fake directors and shell companies.
Authorities discovered that Nepal was being used as a safe haven, with the accused attempting to obtain residency there to evade Indian law. Shams Tahir Khan, an MBA graduate from Rajasthan, acted as a marketing link to international players and traveled with Mishra for cross-border operations.
