837 Arrested as Tamil Nadu Police Launch Statewide Cybercrime Crackdown

Tamil Nadu Police arrested 837 people during a 48-hour statewide crackdown targeting individuals allegedly involved in operating mule bank accounts for cybercriminals, officials said on Sunday.

The special operation was conducted on August 6 and 7 across the state and focused on people linked to 9,804 complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. The complaints involved fraudulent transactions amounting to ₹545.27 crore.

According to a police statement, those arrested were linked to 601 existing FIRs registered in connection with cybercrime cases. Police also registered 157 new FIRs during the operation as part of efforts to prevent the misuse of bank accounts for facilitating online financial fraud.

Police said mule accounts are bank accounts used by cybercriminals to receive, transfer, layer or withdraw illicit funds. Individuals who provide access to their accounts in return for commissions can facilitate the movement of fraudulently obtained money, investigators said.

During the statewide operation, police seized 204 mobile phones, 185 SIM cards, four laptops/desktops, a storage device, 114 bank passbooks, 29 cheque books and 73 ATM/debit cards. One credit card, two other electronic devices and ₹1.02 lakh in cash were also recovered.

Investigators have additionally identified 155 mobile numbers and 58 bank account details for further analysis as part of the ongoing probe.

The crackdown is part of the Tamil Nadu Police's efforts to disrupt the financial infrastructure used by cybercrime networks and prevent bank accounts from being exploited to route proceeds from online fraud.