Ludhiana (Punjab) [India], May 17 (ANI): In a major crackdown on transnational cybercrime, the Police in Punjab's Ludhiana has busted a massive international cyber fraud module that targeted citizens across North America, Canada, and several other countries, extracting crores of rupees, officials said on Sunday.

So far, the police have named 140 accused in the case, out of which 136 have been arrested. A significant cache of electronic equipment and cash has also been recovered.

Sharing operational details, Ludhiana Police Commissioner Swapan Sharma stated that the Income Tax Department has also been roped into the investigation after a massive hawala network linked to the scam was uncovered, with links to Gujarat.

'Our teams have named 140 accused in this major cyber fraud case, and 136 have already been arrested. The fraudsters used to lure victims by posting deceptive advertisements across various social media platforms and subsequently siphoned off large sums of money from their bank accounts. Multiple police teams are currently conducting raids to nab the remaining accused,' Police Commissioner Swapan Sharma said.

The breakthrough comes on the heels of an earlier operation where the police had arrested 132 individuals from a single tech setup functioning in the city.

According to the police, the module operated with accomplices based abroad. The illicit funds extorted from foreign nationals were channelled back through hawala routes and distributed between the domestic and overseas operators on a 40:60 profit-sharing ratio.

Following the massive raid on the gang's hideout in Ludhiana, the police have issued a public advisory urging citizens to remain vigilant against evolving cyber fraud tactics and suspicious online advertisements. Further investigation to completely dismantle the backend hawala links is underway. (ANI)