Hyderabad, February 25 – The Telangana police launched "Operation Crackdown" on Wednesday, a special operation to dismantle the cybercrime network across the state.
Conceived by the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB), "Operation Crackdown" will involve a series of operations over the next few months, in which the TGCSB, in collaboration with districts and commissionerates, will target the crime-criminal networks and the cybercrime ecosystem in the state in order to dismantle them and control cybercrime in the state, according to Director General of Police (DGP) B. Shivadhar Reddy.
The first operation in this series was launched on Wednesday in 16 districts/units, specifically targeting mule bank accounts.
Data analysis by the TGCSB revealed that during 2023, a total of 4,775 mule accounts were operated in the state.
According to the DGP, as part of today's operation, 1,888 suspected mule accounts opened in 137 bank branches spread across 16 districts/units were checked. These accounts were found to be linked to 9,431 crime links across the country, including 782 in Telangana.
A total of 137 police teams, comprising 512 officers/personnel, were involved in today's coordinated operation. These teams visited and inspected 137 bank branches and collected KYC details of suspected mule account holders.
The checking and verification are currently underway. Initial verification has shown that many of these branches have multiple mule accounts, in some cases numbering hundreds, raising suspicion of collusion among bank staff as well as an organized network of agents.
A single account operating from Sultan Bazar, Hyderabad, was found to be linked to 496 crime complaints across multiple jurisdictions, and in Suryapet district, it was found that in four bank branches, there were 298 accounts linked across multiple jurisdictions. Cases are being registered wherever required.
The police chief said that it was also observed that certain smaller banks that do not have the technical capacity to operate RTGS are using the RTGS of national banks for fund transfers. There is no proper verification and validation of the individuals opening accounts in these banks, and this gap is being exploited by cyber criminals.
"Operation Crackdown" will continue with intensified verification, analysis of financial trails, profiling of account holder details, and strict legal action against those involved.