Commissionerate Police nabs notorious gang involved in mobile theft & UPI fraud

The Commissionerate Police on Wednesday claimed to have busted an inter-state criminal gang that used to clean up money from various UPI and bank accounts of people by hacking them after stealing their mobile phones in Bhubaneswar.

A total of eight persons have been arrested in this connection, informed Bhubaneswar DCP, Prateek Singh. According to Singh, the gang used to operate in groups across the country in teams of 14 to 15 persons. They were also involved in multiple cases in Odisha as well.

The gang members are mostly from West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, and other parts of the country.

“The gang members used to visit states during the festive season or during major events. They worked in an organized manner. They used to take a cook along with them and operated in different groups to commit crimes at bus terminals, crowded places, temples, and hospitals. First, they snatch mobile phones and use the SIM cards therein to withdraw from the UPI account and bank account of victims,” informed Singh. The gang was busted by Capital Police while investigating a case of Rs 14 lakh loot from a UPI account of a person in Bhubaneswar.

“After ascertaining the involvement, we nabbed the gang members. However, as the gang members used to change states, it was a bit challenging. Some of the group members are experts in operating phones and other related matters. We have seized 22 mobile phones, 25 SIM cards, some memory chips, and Rs 1.3 lakh cash. Other gang members are absconding and we hope that we will nab them soon,” said Singh.

The Bhubaneswar DCP further informed that the gang had also looted several mobile phones from people on the occasion of New Year in Puri. Interesting Facts The mastermind of the criminal gang used to pay Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 to other members involved in snatching mobile phones. After the crime, the members used to submit the stolen mobile phones to the mastermind.

“One group is an expert in stealing phones while another group works to extract information from the SIM and fraudulently withdraw money. We suspect that the gang has done illegal transactions to the tune of Rs 25 lakh,” Singh added.