In a significant breakthrough, Vakola Police on Saturday arrested five individuals involved in a nationwide cyber fraud operation that duped victims of over Rs30 crore. The accused — Rajkaran Tanwar (19), Karan Segar (19), Mohammad Ansari (27), Miraj Akram (24), and Fujeel Ahmed Ansari (21) — were arrested from Rajasthan and Bhiwandi in Thane.
The case that triggered the arrests began in January when a 26-year-old Santacruz (East) resident lost Rs3.4 lakh in a task-based fake job scam. During the investigation, police traced suspicious transactions to Rajasthan. A team was dispatched and arrested Tanwar and Segar, who were allegedly responsible for transferring stolen funds and converting them into cryptocurrency.
Further investigations led police to Mohammad Ansari in Bhiwandi, who was operating 70 bank accounts not registered in his name. His interrogation revealed the involvement of Miraj Akram and Fujeel Ahmed Ansari. All five were taken into custody and produced in court, which remanded them to police custody until April 28.
Inspector Amar Patil confirmed that the accused had duped victims in multiple cities, including Mumbai, Pune, Bilaspur, and others. In just four months, they are believed to have orchestrated scams totaling Rs7.27 crore in Mumbai West, Rs41 lakh in Mumbai East, and Rs14 lakh in Mumbai North. Additionally, similar scams were registered in Pune and Bilaspur, amounting to Rs22 lakh and Rs48 lakh, respectively.
The scale and complexity of the fraud, involving fake job offers, fund layering, and crypto laundering, have raised alarm among cybercrime units nationwide.
