Rourkela police on Saturday arrested Devendra Pratap Mourya, a key member of a Cambodia-based international cyber crime syndicate, in connection with a major cyber fraud case. The arrest follows a look-out circular issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), with Mourya being implicated in over 500 cyber crimes across India.
The fraud case dates back to December last year when a senior central government officer from Rourkela lost Rs 67.70 lakh in an investment scam. The victim had been deceived by a fake trading app, INDIRA Securities, which falsely claimed to be a genuine, SEBI-registered entity.
Mourya, a 35-year-old graduate, had moved to Cambodia in 2022 seeking better opportunities but became involved in a cyber crime racket operating out of the country. He quickly rose through the ranks of the organization, leading a team of 40 members. Mourya was also the primary recruiter for the group, targeting job-seekers in India with fake overseas employment opportunities.
According to Rourkela SP Nitesh Wadhwani, the arrest was made after Mourya arrived in India, following coordination between the Bureau of Immigration (BI), the Odisha Crime Branch, and Uttar Pradesh police. Police teams from the MHA’s Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center (I4C) and the Odisha Crime Branch will join the investigation to help analyze the evidence and technical aspects of the case.
DIG (Western Range) Brijesh Kumar Rai revealed that the Cambodia-based cyber crime syndicate operates from a large building complex employing over 2,000 people, primarily from the Indian subcontinent. These corporations are led by Chinese nationals and engage in a range of fraudulent activities, including stock market frauds, cryptocurrency scams, human trafficking, and cyber slavery. Over 1,000 Indian victims have fallen prey to these scams.
The cyber crime syndicate has set up a robust network of agents in India, providing pre-activated SIM cards, mule bank accounts, and luring overseas job-seekers with fake job offers in IT firms.
In the course of the investigation, authorities seized several items from the accused, including 10 mobile phones, 8 pen drives, 14 credit/debit cards, currency notes from Nepal, the US, and Cambodia, as well as passports, Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, SIM cards (including international ones), and other materials.
The accused, Mourya, has been placed under a seven-day remand for further questioning. Earlier in March, a couple from Hyderabad was arrested in connection with the same racket.
