Hyderabad police arrest 104 in pan-India cyber fraud crackdown under Operation Octopus; accused linked to 1,055 cases

Hyderabad police arrest 104 people in a nationwide crackdown on cyber fraud, seizing ₹36 lakh and uncovering a major syndicate.

Hyderabad Police arrested 104 individuals across 16 States in an operation against an organised cyber fraud syndicate accused of siphoning off crores of rupees from victims nationwide.

The ‘Operation Octopus’ was carried out simultaneously across multiple States over a period of ten days. Investigators said the operation was launched in response to the rise in investment scams, trading frauds and digital arrest cases, in which victims are coerced through intimidation and deception into transferring large sums of money. Police identified a network of 151 bank accounts used to launder proceeds of the crime.

Through forensic analysis and intelligence gathering, officers tracked the accounts and uncovered a structured network involving mule account holders, middlemen and even a banking insider. Of those arrested, 86 were mule account holders who allegedly permitted their bank accounts to be used to channel illicit funds, 17 were account suppliers or aggregators accused of procuring and routing these accounts to the masterminds behind the fraud. A relationship manager from Bandhan Bank was also arrested for allegedly colluding with the syndicate to facilitate the opening and operation of fraudulent accounts.

According to the police, the accused were linked to 1,055 cyber fraud cases registered across India, involving an estimated fraud amount of ₹127 crore.

During the raids, officers seized 204 mobile phones, 141 SIM cards, 152 bank passbooks, 234 debit and credit cards, 26 laptops, 56 corporate and firm stamps, and ₹36 lakh in cash.

To execute the operation, 32 special teams led by Inspector-rank officers were deployed to identified cybercrime hotspots in Maharashtra, Delhi, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Odisha. Police said the teams worked in close coordination with local law enforcement agencies to conduct targeted raids and arrests.