Noida, 04 March (HS): The Noida Police said on Monday that they had busted an international gang of cyber criminals who were duping Indians after apprehending three persons, including a Chinese and a Nepali. According to authorities, the Chinese individual was in India without a visa and travelled to Noida via Nepal. According to a senior official, the police have discovered four passports and 531 SIM cards that had been activated using counterfeit Indian IDs. The suspects were detained by personnel from the Bisrakh police station. Su Youming (34), a Chinese person discovered without a visa, Anil Thapa (28) from Nepal, and Greater Noida resident Vinod Bhati (52), who was supporting Su Youming, are among those detained, according to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Noida) Suniti.

Passports, driver's licenses, ID cards, nine mobile phones, and credit and debit cards were taken from them. More crucially, Suniti told reporters that they had recovered over 500 operational SIM cards acquired with fraudulent Indian IDs. So far, the investigation has found that they are members of a cyber gang based in Cambodia, according to the police officer.

According to the officer, the arrested guys were providing support to the gang, which targets Indians for cyber-related scams via applications such as Instagram, Telegram, WhatsApp, and some other Chinese apps in Cambodia. According to authorities, the gang was in the midst of building an office in Noida's business area, Sector 18, which would have served as a front for their operations.

The identities of several gang allies in the area have also been revealed, and police are looking into their involvement in the crime, according to authorities. Police have collected 11,435 Nepalese cash, two US dollars, five Dirhams, 150 Thailand notes, five Chinese Yuan, 2100 Cambodian notes, and Rs. 94,710 from the accused.

An FIR has been filed in the matter under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 467, 468, and 471 (all connected to forgery), and a Chinese person has also been booked under the terms of the Foreigners Act, according to police. DCP Suniti stated that further investigation into the matter is underway to trace more linkages to the gang and determine the extent of fraud committed by them thus far. She noted that the developments are being communicated to central and state security authorities, as well as relevant departments.

Hindusthan Samachar/Abhishek Awasthi/Indrani