Shivamogga: In a major crackdown on cybercrime in Karnataka, Shivamogga CEN (Cyber, Economic Offences, and Narcotic) police dismantled a sophisticated ‘mule account’ syndicate that allegedly defrauded victims across India of approximately Rs 82 crore.Police arrested three key accused identified as RC Jagadish, 43, an electronics trader from Shivamogga; Arshad, 39, a fish merchant from Chikkamagaluru; and T Ananth, 34, a marketing professional. The investigation, spearheaded by SP B Nikhil after a complaint was filed by a victim named Wilson on Feb 9, revealed that the accused lured unsuspecting individuals into opening bank accounts in exchange of commissions, which were then hijacked to funnel illicit funds.Technical analysis uncovered 352 criminal cases registered nationwide linked to 15 specific mule accounts managed by this gang, through which over Rs 14.7 crore was actively transacted. During the targeted operation led by CEN inspector Manjunath, authorities seized two mobile phones, 11 ATM cards, nine QR codes, and 15 SIM cards used to facilitate the fraudulent transactions, police said.The three primary accused were remanded to judicial custody by a local court, the Shivamogga SP stated, adding that they continued their investigation to track down additional accomplices involved in this multi-state financial network.
