Chennai Police have arrested 10 people across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and Gujarat in connection with six cyber financial fraud cases involving a reported total loss of Rs 24.54 crore, officials said on Thursday. The operation was conducted by four special teams from the Central Crime Branch and North Zone cybercrime police.
Police teams led by inspectors travelled to and camped in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi while tracing suspects linked to the cases. According to the police, Rs 44.17 lakh of the reported fraud amount had been transferred to bank accounts held by six of the arrested people. The remaining four allegedly acted as intermediaries.
The operation resulted in the recovery of Rs 42.72 lakh, police said. The arrested individuals included six people from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, two from Maharashtra and two from Gujarat. Eight of the accused were remanded in judicial custody, while the police issued notices under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita to the remaining two.
Investigators seized eight mobile phones, SIM cards, memory cards, two bank passbooks and a chequebook during the operation. The material will form part of the ongoing investigation into the movement of funds and the wider network allegedly connected to the six cases.
Police said the arrests followed investigations into cases registered by the Central Crime Branch and North Zone cybercrime police. The reported financial loss across the cases was substantially higher than the amount traced to the bank accounts of the arrested individuals, and investigators are continuing efforts to identify other people who may have been involved.
Chennai city police commissioner A Amalraj commended the teams for tracing suspects across state borders and said strict action would be taken against those involved in cybercrime. The investigation remains underway, with police teams working to locate and arrest additional suspects linked to the cases.
Police have advised residents who lose money in a cyber-fraud incident to report it immediately by calling the national cybercrime helpline 1930 or by filing a complaint through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
