In a breakthrough against international cyber fraud, Gujarat Police’s cyber crime branch has exposed a racket that armed Chinese gangs with thousands of Indian SIM cards used to terrorise people through so-called “digital arrest” scams.
The investigation began after an Ahmedabad resident lost a staggering Rs 86.22 lakh in June. Convinced he was under investigation for money laundering, the victim was sent a forged Supreme Court summons and forced to remain under 24-hour video surveillance.
Each time he resisted, scammers posing as police officers threatened him with immediate arrest. In his desperation, he transferred his life savings, money that vanished into the syndicate’s accounts.
Following digital forensics and human intelligence inputs, investigators traced the scam back to two men already behind bars in Madhya Pradesh: Rishabh Bhalchand Hasurkar, a robotics engineer by training, and Suresh Rajubhai Gudimini. Despite being incarcerated, the duo allegedly ran a network of bogus firms Star Multi Solution, Hasurkar Ventures Pvt Ltd, and Heiqian Multi Management Pvt Ltd, through which they acquired SIM cards in bulk.
Police say the pair secured about 550 numbers directly, reactivated deactivated cards, and pushed a total of 2,500 SIMs into the hands of an agent at Mumbai airport. From there, the cards were funnelled to Chinese handlers who deployed them in elaborate frauds across states.
A police press note said the gang’s modus operandi exploited fear of law enforcement. “Victims were told their accounts were linked to money laundering, given fake Supreme Court warrants, and placed under constant video surveillance. Under threat of arrest, they were forced to transfer funds, which were never returned,” it stated.
The arrested men, already facing cases in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, now confront fresh charges under the IT Act and multiple IPC sections, including cheating and forgery. Authorities believe the racket represents just one spoke in a much larger wheel, where Indian SIM cards fuel scams masterminded overseas.
