Raigad Police in Navi Mumbai have busted a sophisticated “digital arrest” racket spanning six countries, leading to the arrest of 11 individuals. The syndicate coerced victims into transferring large sums of money by impersonating law enforcement and government officials.
The investigation began when a local citizen was defrauded of Rs 66 lakh after being falsely accused of illegal transactions and threatened with a fake Supreme Court arrest warrant via video call. This “digital arrest” scam involved a complex international network across India, Nepal, Pakistan, Canada, China, and Bangladesh.
Among those arrested is Abhay Santprakash Mishra, a B.Tech graduate identified as the mastermind. Mishra operated five high-capacity telecom servers, making over 62 lakh spoofed calls in 28 days and coordinating with foreign nationals to set up voice and video communication lines without user identification. Two Jio Sales Managers were also implicated for approving telecom SIP lines used in the fraud.
Police have seized Rs 85 lakh in Bitcoin and frozen Rs 66 lakh across 112 bank accounts. Shams Tahir Khan, an MBA, acted as a key marketing conduit, onboarding international players. Authorities noted Nepal’s emergence as a safe haven for such cyber operations.
“What appeared to be a standalone scam quickly revealed deeper layers. The Raigad Cyber police station found that the scam was just the tip of a pan-India and cross-border telecom exploitation operation run using forged company documents, SIP lines, and cloud-based calling servers,” Raigad Superintendent of Police Anchal Dalal said.
Raigad SP Aanchal Dalal, further warned that ‘digital arrest’ is a fake concept. “Neither the CBI, ED, nor the Police call citizens through WhatsApp or ask for money to avoid legal action. Citizens are urged to immediately report such incidents to the Cyber Helpline 1930, 1945, or 14407, or visit the nearest police station,” she added.
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