Mumbai Crime Branch Unit-2 raids a luxury villa in Goa and arrests 12 people in connection with an alleged international cyber fraud and money-laundering syndicate. Investigators say the group operated from Goa—specifically a villa in the Calangute police station area—while handling suspected links to Dubai. Police trace the case to an earlier cyber fraud complaint registered at Pydhonie police station in Mumbai. According to the Crime Branch, interrogation of previously arrested suspects and technical analysis of digital evidence lead to the Goa-based operation.
Police allege the syndicate used “mule” bank accounts and activated SIM cards to route fraud proceeds, including through fake documents used to open accounts and obtain SIMs. They add that sensitive documents such as cheque books, ATM cards and passbooks were reportedly transported from Mumbai to Goa using luxury buses to reduce the chance of detection.
The Crime Branch says it freezes about ₹100 crore across multiple bank accounts linked to the racket, while estimating laundering of more than ₹500 crore of cyber fraud proceeds over roughly six months. During the raid on August 4, police seize laptops, mobile phones, ATM cards, SIM cards, cheque books and passbooks. Authorities say additional bank accounts and suspected victims’ complaints are under further verification, and they seek to identify a Dubai-based mastermind and other members of the network.
