Hyderabad Cybercrime police bust eight-member gang running mule bank accounts

Hyderabad Cybercrime police, with Task Force (East), arrested eight members for running mule bank accounts used by cyber fraudsters, causing Rs 24 crore losses. Prime suspect Jagadish recruited others, and police seized passbooks, SIMs, gadgets, warning citizens against aiding fraud

Hyderabad: In a major breakthrough against cyber-enabled financial crime, the Hyderabad Cybercrime police, along with the Task Force (East) team, have arrested an eight-member gang that opened and supplied mule bank accounts to cyber fraudsters across various States in the country.

The gang’s illegal operations facilitated massive online cheating schemes, resulting in fraudulent transactions amounting to over Rs 24 crore.

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The prime suspect and local offender, Poojari Jagadish alias Jaggu, an auto driver from Boduppal, was recruited into the racket in 2023 by a passenger, Kannaiah from Rajasthan, who is currently absconding. Lured by quick cash, Jagadish began opening bank accounts and later expanded his network by involving friends, relatives, and fellow workers.

According to the police, over a period, the gang opened 127 mule accounts across multiple banks, including Federal Bank, Karnataka Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu Mercantile Bank, Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank and Karur Vysya Bank.

The account kits, including passbooks, ATM cards and cheque books, were regularly couriered to key cyber fraudsters Kannaiah, Ramesh and Poonam in Rajasthan.

“Jagadish, receiving up to Rs 10,000 per account, used Aadhaar, PAN, new SIM cards, and enlisted people for commissions ranging from Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,000,” said a senior police official.

He later connected with cyber criminals Poonam and Ramesh and built a wider network involving auto drivers, delivery executives, and hardware technicians, among others.

“The fraud accounts were linked to cases registered in Vanasthalipuram, Rajendranagar, Karnataka and Rajasthan,” police said.

Officials seized bank passbooks, ATM cards, cheque books, SIM cards, gadgets, mobile phones and other material.

Police urged citizens not to open bank accounts for others or share credentials, warning that such misuse strongly supports cyber fraud operations and invites legal consequences.