Patna: Six members of an international cyber fraud syndicate have been arrested, including its 21-year-old kingpin Harshit Kumar, during raids at 22 locations across Bihar and other states. The Economic Offenses Unit (EOU) formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) that arrested Harshit from Gauspur in Supaul.
Investigators said the gang operated a parallel telecom exchange using SIM boxes to make more than 10,000 fake international calls daily, defrauding India’s telecom sector of Rs 2.5 crore in the past two weeks alone and over Rs 60 crore since January.
Harshit Kumar, who has travelled to at least a dozen countries including Thailand, Cambodia and China, owns a house worth several crores in Motihari and has movable and immovable assets worth Rs 12–14 crore. His Motihari bank account containing Rs 2.5 crore has been sealed, and authorities identified 30–35 accounts in different names used for cyber fraud transactions.
Officials said the gang had extensive links with citizens in China, Vietnam, Cambodia and other countries via social media and Telegram groups, enabling them to run a sophisticated cyber fraud network. The operation’s Indian links extend to West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Delhi, Odisha and Jharkhand, while international connections include the UAE, Hong Kong, the UK and Germany.
The EOU team recovered eight SIM box devices, hundreds of fake and unused SIM cards, passbooks, ATMs, credit cards and sensitive documents. Four SIM boxes were purchased from Vietnam and four from China.
Investigators revealed the gang sourced over 1,000 illegally activated SIM cards from Jharkhand since March, largely from Pakur, with telecom distributors enabling the fraud by issuing SIMs using the biometric data of unsuspecting citizens.
Officials also recovered significant amounts of cryptocurrency used to funnel fraudulent proceeds. Multiple crypto accounts and transaction links are under scrutiny.
ADG Nayyar Hasnain Khan stated that a team from the Central Bureau of Investigation and Intelligence Bureau would arrive in Patna soon to probe deeper into the interstate and international dimensions of the scam. Authorities plan to confiscate the gang’s illegal properties following the investigation.
