Daijiworld Media Network - Gandhinagar
Gandhinagar, Jun 1: Gujarat Police has uncovered cyber fraud transactions worth ?2,289 crore through a sweeping month-long enforcement campaign targeting mule bank accounts, resulting in hundreds of arrests and extensive legal action across the state.
The special drive, titled Operation Mule Hunt 1.0, was conducted between December 1 and December 31, 2025, under the leadership of the Gujarat Police Cyber Centre of Excellence. The operation brought together district police units, cybercrime cells, local crime branches, and senior supervisory officers from commissionerates and police ranges across Gujarat.
Authorities launched the campaign to identify and dismantle networks of mule accounts—bank accounts exploited by cybercriminals to move, conceal, or launder proceeds generated through online fraud. According to investigators, such accounts are often operated by individuals who knowingly or unknowingly permit criminals to use their banking credentials for illicit transactions.
Police officials explained that mule accounts act as intermediary channels through which fraudulent funds are rapidly transferred across multiple accounts, making financial tracking and recovery significantly more challenging.
During the operation, law enforcement agencies registered 565 FIRs, arrested 638 individuals, and initiated legal proceedings involving 913 suspected mule accounts. Investigators also linked 4,052 cybercrime cases to these account networks, including 491 cases originating within Gujarat.
The success of the operation was driven by extensive intelligence-sharing and coordinated action among multiple agencies. Data and leads were sourced from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), the Samanvay platform, and the national cybercrime helpline 1930.
To streamline enforcement efforts, district-level nodal officers were tasked with coordinating field investigations, while banking institutions collaborated closely with police authorities through real-time information-sharing mechanisms. This framework enabled rapid identification of suspicious transactions and facilitated targeted action against organised mule account networks operating across state boundaries.
Officials reported that the crackdown has already delivered measurable results within the financial ecosystem. Suspicious cheque-based withdrawal activity dropped sharply, with overall cheque withdrawals declining by nearly 75 per cent. Monthly cheque withdrawals reportedly fell from ?126 crore to ?25 crore, representing an 80 per cent reduction.
The number of first-layer mule accounts—the initial destination where fraud proceeds are deposited before being dispersed—also declined by approximately 30 per cent between August and December 2025. ATM cash withdrawals linked to suspicious activities recorded a 66 per cent decrease during the period from September to December.
Beyond enforcement measures, regulatory authorities are preparing to strengthen preventive safeguards through advanced technology-driven monitoring systems. The Reserve Bank of India is developing an artificial intelligence-based framework capable of assessing transactions according to risk levels and identifying potentially fraudulent activity at an early stage.
Under the proposed model, financial transactions will be classified into low-, medium-, and high-risk categories, allowing banks to implement more proactive fraud detection mechanisms. The initiative is being rolled out with support from the Indian Digital Payment Intelligence Corporation (IDPIC), which has been designated as the nodal agency for implementation.
A dedicated information-sharing platform, mulehunter.ai, has also been established to facilitate collaboration among banks by maintaining records of suspected mule accounts and related entities.
Officials said the initiative reflects a broader nationwide effort to counter increasingly sophisticated cybercrime threats emerging alongside the rapid expansion of digital payments and online banking services. They emphasised that effective prevention now requires close coordination between law enforcement agencies, financial institutions, and regulatory bodies.
The findings and intelligence generated through Operation Mule Hunt 1.0 are expected to support future enforcement strategies, strengthen preventive surveillance mechanisms, and enhance real-time detection of cyber fraud networks exploiting India's financial infrastructure.
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