Navi Mumbai: Investigations into a complaint of a ‘digital arrest’ scam in Raigad has now been found to be linked with an international cybercrime syndicate operating across India, Nepal, Pakistan, Canada, China, and Bangladesh. Acting on a complaint filed in May, the Raigad Cyber Police have arrested 11 individuals, including tech-savvy masterminds, telecom insiders, and marketing agents.

The investigation started after a local citizen reported receiving a threatening video call on May 5 from someone posing as an official from the Telecom Authority of India. The victim was told that his identity had been misused for illegal transactions and that a Supreme Court arrest warrant was issued against him. To ‘settle’ the matter, he was forced to transfer Rs 66 lakh in multiple installments. The fraud was cleverly masked as a ‘digital arrest’.

“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.

Abhay Santprakash Mishra, (29), a B.Tech Computer Science graduate from Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh was found to be the mastermind. Mishra managed a network of five high-capacity telecom servers that placed over 62 lakh spoofed calls in 28 days, including 86,910 targeting Maharashtra alone.

Mishra was found to be in constant digital communication with foreign nationals from Pakistan, Canada, Nepal, Bangladesh, and China, discussing the setup of SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) lines, a telecom technology that allows voice and video communication over the internet — often without requiring user-level identification.

Using the alias ‘Alex,’ Mishra conducted encrypted conversations via Microsoft Teams, discussing fraud operations, lease line acquisitions, and telecom routing with international collaborators. “He was also preparing forged documentation to obtain permanent residency in Nepal,” Dalal said. Authorities have also identified properties linked to him in Nepal, Noida, and Hardoi, along with Rs 85 lakh in Bitcoin, as proceeds of crime.

Police found that the gang had created fake companies such as Nivi Cloud Pvt Ltd, Credil Info Pvt Ltd, Oxydeal, and others. These companies existed only on paper — supported by fraudulent documents, forged rubber stamps, and complicit telecom sales executives.

Two Jio Sales Managers, Balmori Vinaykumar Rao and Gangadhar Gangaram Muttan, played a crucial role by accepting these fake documents via WhatsApp, signing off as company directors, and approving telecom SIP lines. These telecom lines were then used to make fake calls in the guise of CBI, ED, police, and other agencies.

Police also arrested Mohsin Mia Khan (35) from Delhi, who possessed over 6,175 SIM cards from providers like Jio, Airtel, BSNL, VI, Idea, and 13 foreign numbers — along with 26 mobile handsets. These SIM cards were being used to rotate identities, mask call origins, and bypass traceability.

The network involved a team of document forgers identified as Abdus Salam Barbhuyan, Nadeem Ahmed, Lairab Khan, Shadan Khan, and Mohammad Faisal Khan, all of whom played roles in setting up fake firms and laundering funds. Fake bank accounts, dummy directors, and proxy communications were used to route money, with over 112 bank accounts identified and Rs 66 lakh frozen so far.

Shams Tahir Khan, an MBA graduate from Rajasthan, acted as the SIP marketing conduit, onboarding international players and travelling with Mishra to Nepal, which is emerging as a safe haven for such cyber operators due to weak extradition oversight, said police.

Authorities have invoked multiple charges under IPC Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B, the Telegraph Act, and the IT Act. Assets across multiple states and countries are now under seizure proceedings.

Raigad SP Aanchal Dalal, who led the investigation, 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.

Further investigations into the crime is being conducted by SP Dalal and Additional Superintendent of Police, Abhijit Shivthare, Inspector Rizwana Nadaf, Assistant Police Inspector Amol Jadhav, ASI Mohite, PN Tushar Gharat, PN Rahul Patil, PN Rajiv Zinjurte, PC Gurav, LHC Suchita Patil and LHC Puja Patil.