Junagadh, Dec 16 (PTI) Police in Gujarat's Junagadh have unearthed an elaborate network allegedly involved in facilitating the parking of cyber fraud money into several bank accounts and arrested eight persons, an official said on Monday.

A scrutiny of 42 out of around 200 suspicious bank accounts by the police shows cyber criminals deposited a staggering Rs 50 crore they had earned illegally by defrauding people from various states.

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The gang was prima facie working for inter-state cyber criminals and facilitated parking of crime money by obtaining bank accounts through illegal means and offering commissions to people, said Range IGP, Junagadh, Nilesh Jajadia.

The money transferred by cyber victims into these bank accounts used to be immediately withdrawn and routed to fraudsters located in different parts of India through Hawala network and angadias, he said.

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The main accused in the case, who hails from Ahmedabad, has accepted to have obtained more than 200 bank accounts by offering commission to account holders on false pretexts, Jajadia said.

"Out of these 200 bank accounts, we collected information on 82 such accounts. After analysing 42 accounts, we have found that Rs 50 crore of cyber fraud money was deposited in them," he told reporters.

He said police acted on intel received around a month back about the activities of a gang in Junagadh and neighbouring districts.

"The intel says the gang members obtained bank accounts from genuine account holders through fraudulent means and offering commission on money transferred by cyber fraudsters located in different states," Jajadia said.

He said an account holder, whose account was allegedly misused, contacted cyber police, leading to the registration of an FIR under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and the Information Technology Act.

"We are investigating two channels --- one leading to the main cyber fraudsters who lure victims into deposit money in these accounts, and another who obtain these bank accounts and withdraw money before sending them to criminals," Jajadia said.

He said two out of the eight persons arrested so far are from Ahmedabad. They were in contact with the main cyber fraudsters, while five others were local agents who lured bank account holders. Another accused is a woman who used to withdraw and send money to fraudsters through Hawala channels and angadias.

The investigation shows the accused were in contact with banks to obtain details of accounts which could be used for criminal purposes, he said.

Altogether, 152 online complaints have been registered on the cyber crime portal from across the country against 82 bank accounts, details of which were obtained by Junagadh police, officials said.

Police have warned of legal action if account holders whose accounts were used by fraudsters do not come forward.

Angadias are a network of people who specialise in the secure transportation of valuable items, such as cash, jewelry, and important documents. The term "angadia" is a traditional banking system that has been prevalent in India for centuries.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)