Indian cybercrime racket: Rs 1,100 crore fraud exposed, Ludhiana man among 6 Indians arrested
The alleged masterminds behind the operation are four Malaysian nationals
Ludhiana resident Sandeep Bhatt is among six Indians arrested by the Rajasthan Police in connection with a massive Rs 1,100 crore cybercrime racket. The other arrested individuals are Prakash Bhil, Hemant Panwar, Ram Avatar Rathi, Harish Malakar and Mohammad Sharif.
The alleged masterminds behind the operation are four Malaysian nationals: Lee Jian Hui, Lo Di Khen, Chin Yu Ming, and Leong Ken Nath, against whom lookout circulars have been issued.
The racket was first uncovered in Jodhpur last week. Investigations are now being led by the Sriganganagar Cyber Police, as the case has links to the district. Sunil Kumar, allegedly involved in issuing SIM card numbers from three centers in the border town of Anupgarh, is said to have sent these SIMs to Cambodia, where they were used for fraudulent activities.
Police stated that the operation was primarily run by Chinese gangs operating call centers in Cambodia, which lured unemployed Indian youths to Vietnam and Cambodia with promises of jobs. Once there, the youths were given 15 days of training, had their documents confiscated, and were forced to carry out scams targeting Indian citizens.
The call centers reportedly employed 1,000–1,500 people, including individuals from India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. The scams involved investment schemes, trading frauds, and fake apps. Authorities have blocked over 5,000 fake SIM cards and WhatsApp accounts linked to the operation.
The case came to light through an investigation led by Jodhpur Police Commissioner Om Prakash. A SIM card issued in the name of Barkat Khan was used to defraud a person in Telangana of Rs 8.9 crore, despite Barkat Khan having no knowledge of it.
Reverse tracking by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center revealed that between September and November 2025, 36,000 Indian SIM cards out of 2.3 lakh suspicious mobile numbers were active in Cambodia, contributing to a total fraud of Rs 1,100 crore across 32 states and union territories.
One of the accused, Prakash Bhil, disclosed that he and his associates—including Mohammed Sharif, Sandeep Bhatt, Hemant Panwar, Ram Avatar, Rahul Kumar Jha, Rustam Khan, Harish Malakar, Vinayak Mobile Makrana, and Ravinder Bishnoi—provided fake SIM cards to the Malaysian nationals. Rahul Kumar Jha reportedly received the money from the Malaysians and sent them the SIM cards. The group allegedly communicated via the dark web to evade authorities.
