Gujarat CID arrests Assam man behind 1,090 China linked cybercrimes

The Gujarat Crime Investigation Department (CID) has arrested a 25-year-old man from Assam for his alleged involvement in a nationwide cyber fraud network linked to 1,090 cybercrime cases worth Rs 1,071.5 crore, according to media reports.Police identified the accused as Rafiqul Alam, a resident of Assam's Barpeta district. Investigators alleged that he maintained links with China-based cybercriminals and played a central role in laundering money generated through digital arrest scams and other forms of cyber fraud.

VIDEO | Gujarat: The Cyber Centre of Excellence in Gandhinagar has busted an international ‘Digital Arrest’ gang involved in extorting money by posing as police, CBI and ED officials.

The gang’s alleged main operator has been arrested following a technical investigation, with… pic.twitter.com/xwEXwU663Y

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 17, 2026

According to the Gujarat CID, Alam was responsible for transferring illicit funds through an extensive network of bank accounts before converting the money into cryptocurrencies and routing it to China.The arrest was made by the CID's Cyber Centre of Excellence (CCE) after an investigation that reportedly involved extensive technical analysis and surveillance.According to media reports,the CCE stated that,"Based on technical analysis and the victims' statement, a team from CCE visited Barpeta city and conducted a three-day recce of the house of the main money launderer in disguise and arrested him along with his technical gadgets.The investigators mentioned, the accused distributed money obtained through digital arrest scams and other cyber frauds across 1,758 bank accounts nationwide. The funds were allegedly divided into smaller amounts to avoid detection by financial monitoring agencies.The CCE said,"The money received by the accused through digital arrest or cyber frauds was split and transferred to 1,754 bank accounts across India within an hour by converting large amounts into small amounts to evade the attention of financial surveillance agencies."
Police said Alam remained in regular contact with China-based operatives through WhatsApp and Telegram. Investigators alleged that he shared sensitive financial information, including scanner details, user IDs, passwords, cryptocurrency wallet information and details of the network's operating methods through the messaging platforms.According to the agency, investigators recovered 23 cryptocurrency wallets from the accused's mobile phones and identified transactions worth Rs 16 crore. Officials said the findings strengthened evidence linking the accused to a China-based cybercrime network.The investigation also revealed alleged illegal cryptocurrency trading through an application identified as the "chip seller" app.SP Vivek Bheda of Gujarat’s Cyber Centre of Excellence said,"The accused has been involved in a total of 1,090 cyber crimes across the country amounting to Rs 1071.5 crore, with mobile phones also revealing gaming account transactions".

VIDEO | Gandhinagar, Gujarat: SP Vivek Bheda, Cyber Centre of Excellence, Gandhinagar, highlighted a major breakthrough in the crackdown on an international ‘Digital Arrest’ gang. The gang’s main operator was arrested following a technical investigation, with its network linked… pic.twitter.com/c85S4cnqdE

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 17, 2026

In a separate development, the CCE said it prevented 10 suspected digital arrest cases across multiple states during an investigation involving an Ahmedabad-based senior citizen.According to the agency, the senior citizen was allegedly threatened by cybercriminals who claimed he would be implicated in a child pornography case unless he paid Rs 20 lakh. Following technical analysis of his bank account, a CCE team intervened and counselled him.The agency also cited another case involving a senior citizen from Surat who was allegedly threatened with Enforcement Directorate action by fraudsters posing as police officials.According to the CCE, the scammers initially demanded Rs 60 lakh from the Surat resident. When he was unable to sell his flat to raise the amount, he reportedly sold his shop for Rs 20 lakh to make the payment.The CCE said its intervention helped prevent 10 people from becoming victims of digital arrest scams. Those counselled included five people from Gujarat, three from Odisha and one each from Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.According to the Gujarat CID, the arrest in Assam exposed an alleged cross-border cyber fraud network with links to China, while the agency's parallel investigation helped prevent multiple victims across different states from losing money to digital arrest scams.

(State Correspondent)