CBI nabs 2 who sexually exploited US girls via messaging app

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has cracked down on two cybercrime networks engaged in the online sexual exploitation of minors, as part of its latest international enforcement drive, Operation Hawk-2025.

Acting on intelligence from US authorities, the CBI’s International Operations Division registered two separate cases and arrested two accused while seizing key digital evidence from multiple cities.

In the first case, Sheikh Muizz Ahmed, a Mangalore resident, allegedly targeted a minor girl in the US via Discord using the alias heisenberg7343.

According to investigators, in March 2024, he engaged the victim in sexually explicit conversations, coerced her into sharing obscene images and videos, and used threats to manipulate her into continued participation.

Following the registration of a case under relevant provisions of the IPC, IT Act, and POCSO Act, the CBI conducted coordinated searches in Mangalore and Mumbai. A mobile phone and laptop containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) were recovered. Ahmed has since been arrested and remanded to judicial custody.

The second case involves Mukul Saini from Delhi, who allegedly used multiple Discord IDs —Izumi#9412, Izumi#7070, Deadddd#6873, and Arisu — to establish contact with a minor girl in the US over a period spanning 2023 to 2024. The CBI alleged that Saini induced the girl into sending explicit content and later threatened to leak the material online if she failed to comply.

Searches on Saini’s premises in Delhi led to the recovery of mobile devices and computer hardware containing incriminating digital evidence. A case has been filed under Sections of the IPC, IT Act, and POCSO Act.