{
  "id": 1652076,
  "title": "1,090 cybercrimes, Rs 1,071 crore trail: China-linked gang ‘mastermind’ arrested",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/1-090-cybercrimes-rs-1-071-crore-trail-china-linked-gang-mastermind",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-18T06:18:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Times of India",
    "slug": "times-of-india",
    "url": "https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/1090-cybercrimes-rs-1071-crore-trail-china-linked-gang-mastermind-arrested-in-assam/articleshow/133313405.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "NEW DELHI: The Gujarat CID has apprehended a 25-year-old individual from Assam who is accused of orchestrating 1,090 cybercrime incidents totaling Rs 1,071.5 crore across India, with alleged connections to China-based criminal organizations. The accused, Rafiqul Alam, was taken into custody by the CID’s cyber cell in Barpeta, Assam, following a thorough technical probe into an alleged international cybercrime syndicate, according to ANI.\n\nAccording to investigators, Alam is alleged to have been the driving force behind the redirection of funds obtained through various forms of cyber fraud, including \"digital arrest\" scams, through numerous bank accounts before covertly transferring the illicit proceeds into cryptocurrency and dispatching them to China. The Gandhinagar-based Cyber Centre of Excellence (CCE) revealed that Alam moved tainted money through 1,754 bank accounts distributed across India, employing a strategy of breaking substantial sums into smaller transactions to elude financial surveillance mechanisms.\n\nThe CCE disclosed that the illicit funds amassed by the accused were subsequently apportioned and disbursed into 1,754 bank accounts spread across India within a matter of hours, with the currency converted into smaller denominations in an attempt to circumvent the vigilance of financial surveillance agencies. Police sources indicated that Alam maintained a clandestine connection with China-based criminals via the messaging platforms WhatsApp and Telegram, where confidential financial data and operational strategies were exchanged.\n\nThe CCE discovered 23 cryptocurrency wallets on Alam’s mobile devices, which facilitated around Rs 16 crore in transactions, thereby establishing a tangible link between these digital assets and a China-based criminal network. In addition, investigators uncovered evidence of illicit cryptocurrency trading conducted through a platform known as \"chip seller.\" The Gujarat police unit described Alam as the alleged \"mastermind\" behind an international cybercrime ring, emphasizing his involvement in 1,090 cyber offenses across the nation, amounting to a staggering Rs 1,071.5 crore. The CCE further disclosed that Alam's mobile phones contained records of gaming account transactions, further corroborating his alleged involvement in the criminal enterprise.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}