In a major move against rising cybercrime and digital fraud, the Gujarat government has launched ‘Operation Mule Hunt 2.0’ across the state from June 2, 2026. The decision came after a late-night emergency video conference chaired by Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi with top police officials.
The high-level meeting included senior officers, police commissioners and district police chiefs from across Gujarat. During the review, strict directions were issued to carry out what officials described as a “surgical strike” against mule accounts and the cybercrime networks operating behind them.
The fresh statewide crackdown comes just a day after Gujarat Police revealed the massive success of ‘Operation Mule Hunt 1.0’, which exposed cyber fraud transactions worth a staggering Rs 2,289 crore.
According to official figures, Operation Mule Hunt 1.0 led to the registration of 565 FIRs and the arrest of 638 accused involved in cyber fraud activities. Police took action against 913 mule accounts and linked them to more than 4,000 cybercrime cases spread across India.
The operation was led by Gujarat Police’s Cyber Centre of Excellence (CCOE) with support from all police commissionerates, range offices, Local Crime Branch units and Cyber Police Stations throughout the state.
But what exactly are mule accounts?
A mule account is a bank account used by cyber criminals to receive, transfer and hide money obtained through online fraud. The person whose account is used is known as a “money mule.” In many cases, people knowingly rent or sell access to their bank accounts for quick money. In other cases, innocent account holders are tricked into sharing banking access through fake job offers, commissions or investment schemes. These accounts are the financial backbone of cyber fraud.
Fraudsters use mule accounts to move stolen money through multiple transactions and different bank accounts, making it extremely difficult for investigators to trace the original source and final destination of the money. Cyber gangs often create long chains of such accounts to break the money trail and avoid detection.
Investigators say Gujarat is currently among the states under major scrutiny for mule-account networks because of the increasing use of such accounts in organised cyber fraud. At the same time, Gujarat Police is also emerging as one of the most aggressive state police forces taking action against these networks.
During Operation Mule Hunt 1.0, investigators analysed intelligence from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), coordination platforms and the cybercrime helpline 1930. District-level nodal officers and dedicated teams were appointed, while banks were directed to provide real-time information sharing to help police quickly identify suspicious transactions. The crackdown produced visible results.
Cheque withdrawals linked to suspicious transactions reportedly dropped sharply, falling from nearly Rs 126 crore per month to around Rs 25 crore, an almost 80 percent reduction. Authorities also recorded a nearly 30 percent fall in first-layer mule accounts, where stolen money is initially deposited, along with a 66 percent decline in suspicious ATM withdrawals.
Officials believe these numbers show that targeting mule accounts directly weakens the operational strength of cybercrime syndicates. The state is now moving into a more aggressive second phase.
Under Operation Mule Hunt 2.0, police are expected to focus on identifying, freezing and dismantling mule-account networks across Gujarat. Investigators are likely to expose several more mule accounts and widen the crackdown on organised cyber fraud groups operating within and outside the state.
Authorities are also preparing for technology-based prevention. Under Reserve Bank of India-linked initiatives, an Artificial Intelligence-based risk-scoring system is being developed through the Indian Digital Payment Intelligence Platform Corporation (IDPIC). The system is expected to classify transactions as low, medium or high risk so banks can detect suspicious activity before fraud spreads on a large scale.
A dedicated information-sharing registry known as ‘mulehunter.ai’ is also being developed to allow banks and agencies to exchange intelligence on suspicious accounts and emerging fraud patterns.
With Operation Mule Hunt 2.0 beginning today, Gujarat Police has opened a fresh and statewide front against cybercrime. Officials say the message is clear, cyber fraudsters and the financial networks supporting them are now firmly under the scanner, and the crackdown is only expected to intensify in the coming days.
Also Read: Cybercrime On Rise In Gujarat https://www.vibesofindia.com/cybercrime-on-rise-in-gujarat/
