CHENNAI: A seven-member cybercrime module, including a police constable, that was part of an international cybercrime network was busted with the arrest of all the seven on Tuesday. Operating from Sathirakudi village and Paramakudi town in Ramanathapuram district, the gang converted about Rs100 crore of cybercrime proceeds into cryptocurrency and transferred the funds to offshore syndicates, said the Tamil Nadu Cyber Crime Wing.Explaining their modus operandi, an officer said the accused operated small businesses such as mobile repair shops, milk shops and cloth stores in Sathirakudi and Paramakudi while secretly acting as agents who transferred funds and converted them into cryptocurrency. “They projected themselves as traders or salespersons, but they functioned as key agents who converted the money into cryptocurrency,” the officer said.Police said the accused used sophisticated software and mobile applications to move the funds. They first converted the money into US dollars and then used the dollars to purchase cryptocurrency.Another officer said the suspects created temporary WhatsApp groups that remained active for only four to six hours before being deleted. “They created new groups shortly before transferring money to buy US dollars and cryptocurrency and deactivated the groups soon after the transactions,” he said.All the seven suspects were remanded in judicial custody on Monday. Police, however, withheld their identities as investigators are tracking more suspects linked to the network.A key suspect was Pradeep, 35, of Ramanathapuram, who was serving as a constable in the 12th Battalion at Manimuthar in Tirunelveli district. He has since been arrested and suspended from service, said an officer, adding that they planned to take his custody for interrogation.The breakthrough came during the investigation of an online investment scam in which a victim lost Rs1.36 crore. Sustained cyber surveillance and intensive investigation revealed the involvement of an organized module that siphoned off cybercrime proceeds to offshore networks. A special team led by superintendent of police I Shahnaz of the Cyber Crime Division-I arrested the seven accused from Ramanathapuram district.Investigators found that in 2025 and 2026, the gang converted nearly Rs100 crore obtained through cyber fraud into cryptocurrency and transferred the funds to digital wallets controlled by international cybercrime syndicates.Director-general of police (cybercrime) Sandeep Mittal said the wing alerted several states after monitoring suspicious fund transfers between accounts. “Our teams track digital transactions round the clock. After sharing inputs with other states, we helped prevent at least two dozen cases involving illegal digital transactions and so-called digital arrest scams across India,” he said.
