Nine of them were nabbed in Goa, five in Vadodara and two in Palanpur, according to police. The key masterminds were identified as Kiran Joshi and Jitu Thakkar, supported by others who provided mule accounts and facilitated transactions.

The modus operandi involved creating mule accounts to bypass scrutiny, establishing three shell firms and supplying over 260 bank accounts to fraud operators. Funds were laundered through complex layering techniques across scams such as digital arrest fraud, investment fraud, UPI fraud, deposit fraud, loan fraud, part-time job scams and gaming fraud. The network operated on a commission-based infrastructure, maintaining active communication with foreign-based operators, particularly in Dubai, via WhatsApp and Telegram groups.

"More than 260 bank account details were recovered from the mobile phones of the accused. Some of the accused were involved in setting up fictitious firms, and three such shell firms, set up to facilitate mule account operations, were unearthed. They provided bank account details to their associates engaged in cyber crime and gaming-related fraud, thereby facilitating the laundering of fraudulently obtained funds," Cyber Centre of Excellence SP Vivek Bheda said.

Police seized 15 laptops, 85 mobile phones, 19 cheque books, 82 passbooks, 126 SIM cards, 115 debit cards, blank cheques, routers, pen drives from their possession, he said.