As cyber fraud and online scams continue to rise across Gujarat, the state government has launched a major crackdown aimed at dismantling the financial networks that help cyber criminals operate. The Gujarat government has now rolled out “Operation Mule Hunt 2.0”, a statewide campaign designed to identify suspicious bank accounts used in cyber fraud and track down the criminal networks behind them.
The decision was taken after a high-level review meeting chaired by Gujarat’s Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi. Following the meeting, police across the state were directed to launch an aggressive operation against cyber criminals and individuals involved in facilitating digital fraud.
All the top police officers, including the state’s Director General of Police (DGP) Dr K.L.N. Rao, were present in this meeting. Apart from this, all the state’s Police Commissioners (CPs), Range IGs (IGs), DIGs and District Police Chiefs (SPs) joined the video conference live late at night and presented the current security situation in their respective areas as well as cyber crime cases.
What is Operation Mule Hunt?
The main agenda of this entire operation is to strengthen digital security and eliminate the entire network of the cyber mafia. The main objective of this campaign is to trace suspicious banking accounts used for cyber fraud and dismantle the international criminal chain operating behind it.
In cybercrime investigations, a ‘Mule Account’ is a bank account used by cybercriminals to transfer their illicit funds. Cybercriminals usually rent bank accounts of poor, unknown or greedy people by offering them commissions. Crores of rupees earned through fraud, phishing, hacking, gambling or drugs are transferred to these accounts.
The person who holds this account is known as a ‘money mule’. With the help of these accounts, cyber criminals use multiple transactions of money to transfer from one account to numerous others in a very short period of time. The main purpose behind this scam is to hide the identity of the real mastermind, so that when the investigating agencies reach the account holder, no direct charges can be filed against the real criminals.
According to officials, breaking this network is one of the most effective ways to reduce large-scale cybercrime.
Success of Operation Mule Hunt 1.0
The state government has decided to intensify the campaign after the success of the first phase, known as Operation Mule Hunt 1.0.
The Gujarat Police had achieved unprecedented success in the first phase of the earlier operation to break this dangerous network, namely ‘Operation Mule Hunt 1.0’. In this first phase of the operation, conducted by the Cyber Centre of Excellence (CCOE) of Gujarat Police, strict action was taken against mule accounts, and a total of ₹2289 crore worth of cyber fraud was unearthed in different cases.
If we look at the major achievements of Operation Mule Hunt 1.0, the police registered a total of 565 FIRs and arrested 638 cyber criminals in a short period of time. Apart from this, direct action was taken against 913 active mule accounts, and a total of 4052 crimes were identified across the country, out of which 491 crimes were solved in the state of Gujarat alone.
The first phase of the operation also saw changes in banking transactions. There was a direct reduction of 75% in cheque withdrawals from mule accounts by cybercriminals. Statistically, monthly cheque withdrawals fell from ₹126 crore to just ₹25 crore, which represents a huge reduction of 80% in this black business.
In addition, the number of first-layer mule accounts, i.e. where cyber fraud money is deposited first, decreased by 30% from August to December. Also, due to strict police watch, there was a huge decrease of 66% in suspicious cash withdrawals from ATMs between September and December.
Statewide offensive begins from 2nd June
Following the results of the first phase, the Gujarat government has now launched Operation Mule Hunt 2.0 on a much larger scale from Tuesday, 2nd June.
Under this campaign, clear orders have been given to the police department to carry out ‘Mule Account Surgical Strike’ in all the districts of the state.
Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghvi has recently started a series of marathon meetings with District Superintendents of Police (SPs) at his office at Swarnim Complex-1. In the last 13 hours, a face-to-face meeting was held with a total of 19 district police chiefs to review the district-wise police performance in areas such as law and order, crime control and cybercrime.
Focus on tracking masterminds
The government says its current strategy is not limited to identifying suspicious accounts. Authorities are now trying to trace the entire chain of people involved in cyber fraud, including those who knowingly or unknowingly provide their bank accounts for illegal transactions.
Officials aim to track every account receiving cybercrime proceeds and identify the masterminds controlling the networks. Investigators are also examining possible interstate and international links connected to these operations.
The administration believes that targeting the financial infrastructure of cyber criminals will significantly weaken their ability to carry out large-scale scams.
AI technology to strengthen monitoring
To make the operation more effective, authorities are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence and digital monitoring systems.
Under guidance from the Reserve Bank of India, the Indian Digital Payment Intelligence Corporation (IDPIC) is introducing an AI-based risk-scoring mechanism. Under this system, financial transactions will be classified into low-risk, medium-risk and high-risk categories.
A central registry called mulehunter.ai has also been created to help banks share information about suspicious accounts and improve coordination in detecting fraud.
Officials believe that technology-driven monitoring will help identify suspicious transactions much faster than traditional methods.
Cybersecurity now linked to national security
The growing threat of cybercrime has become a matter of concern at the highest levels of government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly urged citizens to remain alert against digital fraud, including scams involving so-called “digital arrests” and other online deception techniques.
India’s rapid digital expansion has made cybersecurity an increasingly important issue. Over the last decade, internet users in the country have reportedly increased from around 25 crore to more than 100 crore. More than two lakh gram panchayats have also been connected through the BharatNet programme.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has previously stated that cybersecurity is no longer only an economic issue but has become directly linked to national security.
Against this backdrop, Gujarat’s Operation Mule Hunt 2.0 is being seen as a major effort to strengthen both financial and digital security. Officials believe that the combination of aggressive policing, advanced technology and coordination with banks could make it increasingly difficult for cyber criminals to launder money through mule accounts.
However, the awareness of common citizens is equally essential in this digital revolution. People should be aware and stay away from temptations; do not rent out their bank accounts and immediately take refuge in 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in in case of any fraud; only then will the anti-cybercrime campaign gain momentum, and the government and administration will get a lot of help in curbing such crimes.
(This article is a translation of the original article published at OpIndia Gujarati.)
