The State Cyber Crime Cell has identified Pankaj Kathiriya, a resident of Surat, as the mastermind behind a cyber fraud racket running into Rs 200 crore.
Cops nabbed Kathiriya and five of his associates, believed to have been behind at least 386 cyber crimes.
Investigations revealed that Kathiriya coordinated the fraudulent network that robbed people through digital arrest, financial fraud, part-time job scams, online gaming fraud and lottery scams, among others.
According to police sources, Kathiriya brought together a group of accomplices who were running a spa centre in Morbi. The arrested have been identified as Rupen Bhatia (Morbi), Mahendra Solanki (Morbi), Rakeshbhai Lania (Lakhtar, Surendranagar), Rakeshkumar Dekawadia (Lakhtar, Surendranagar), and Vijay Khambhalya (Surat).
They set up an office outside the APMC Market Yard in Lakhtar and used it as a front for laundering cyber fraud proceeds. The gang allegedly opened hundreds of “mule” bank accounts using documents obtained from villagers across Saurashtra. In exchange, villagers were paid small commissions. Police further found that the accused earned double profits by reinvesting Rs 650 commission they paid per account into second-hand trading businesses, compared to the Rs 1 lakh they were earning from cyber fraud. A senior police official said that the accused built a sophisticated system capable of stealing money from any bank account within minutes across the world. “More arrests are likely,” he said.