Major crackdown on terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, raids conducted in Srinagar and Shopian
CIK conducts raids in Srinagar, Shopian, and Ganderbal in terror probe; earlier busted high-tech cyber fraud racket with arrests and equipment seizure.
Srinagar (The Uttam Hindu): In a major action against terrorism, the Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police conducted raids at multiple locations across the region, including Srinagar, Shopian, and Ganderbal. The operation is linked to a newly registered terror investigation case at a CIK police station.
A senior Counter Intelligence official confirmed the development, stating that the searches were carried out as part of an ongoing probe into suspected activities and networks.
Last week as well, the CIK wing achieved a significant breakthrough by busting a high-tech international cyber fraud racket and arresting seven suspects. In an official statement, CIK said it had uncovered a sophisticated fraud network operating in Srinagar.
According to the statement, CIK-CID received credible technical inputs about secret call centers targeting both foreign and local citizens through online fraudulent activities. Special teams of technical experts and field operatives were immediately formed, leading to surveillance, digital intelligence gathering, and verification at multiple locations. Eventually, a key operational hub was identified in the Rangreth industrial area of Srinagar.
Following this, coordinated raids were conducted across different parts of Srinagar city. During the operation, seven suspects were arrested, and a large number of digital and communication devices were seized. These included 13 mobile phones, nine laptops, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems, SIM cards, networking devices, and digital storage media.
Investigators revealed that the accused were running an unregistered covert call center using VoIP systems. This allowed them to generate international virtual numbers and hide their real locations through server routing and spoofing techniques. They posed as legitimate service providers to deceive unsuspecting victims.
The network used fake websites and Google advertisements to target individuals across multiple countries. When victims clicked on these ads, a toll-free number would appear on their screen. Through these numbers, the accused tricked victims into sharing banking and personal details, which were then used to transfer funds into various accounts, including fake accounts and cryptocurrency wallets.