Mumbai: The city crime branch has busted a major international cyber fraud and money laundering syndicate, arresting 12 members who were allegedly operating from a villa in Calangute, Goa. Investigators suspect the syndicate laundered more than Rs 500 crore of cyber fraud proceeds to handlers based in Dubai using mule bank accounts and SIM cards.Following the arrests, police said they have frozen between Rs 50 crore and Rs 60 crore parked across nearly 150 mule bank accounts. Investigators are also trying to ascertain why the syndicate chose Goa as its operational base for the alleged cyber fraud network.During the investigation of a cyber fraud case registered at Pydhonie police station, police found a gang involved in opening mule bank accounts in Mumbai and supplying them to operators in Goa for use in cyber fraud and illegal online gaming activities.“The syndicate paid large sums to the owners of mule accounts and collected their bank welcome kits, including SIM cards linked to the accounts. These SIM cards were used to receive OTPs, enabling the accused to operate the accounts and transfer the money to their handlers in Dubai,” said Dilip Tejankar, senior police inspector of Crime Branch Unit II.According to the police, the accused used online platforms known as “100 Panel” and “Rudra” to process requests for the withdrawal and transfer of funds generated through cyber fraud and illegal online gaming.Acting on intelligence inputs, the Mumbai Crime Branch raided the villa in Calangute and arrested all 12 accused. During the search, police seized 15 laptops, 128 ATM cards, 85 mobile phones, 76 SIM cards, 22 cheque books, 77 bank passbooks, six routers, and three keyboards.“We have just arrested the gang and are now trying to establish their links with the Dubai-based operators. Preliminary inquiries reveal that most of the arrested accused are from Gujarat. They were paid a monthly salary of Rs 35,000 along with commission. Their primary role was to immediately launder the cyber fraud proceeds from mule accounts and transfer the funds to handlers in Dubai,” said DCP Raj Tilak Roshan.He added that the entire operation was controlled by handlers based in Dubai.A preliminary analysis of the seized bank accounts has revealed links to at least 83 cyber fraud cases registered across the country through the National Cyber Crime Helpline ‘1930’. Investigators are now examining the digital devices and banking records to identify additional beneficiaries, accomplices, and the international financial network behind the operation.