Chennai: In a coordinated crackdown on online fraud, the cybercrime wing arrested 136 cybercriminals across the state as part of Operation Thiraineekku-II which relied on scientific profiling, real-time monitoring, and financial trail mapping.What made the operation stand out was its back-end precision. Officers used the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) of the Union ministry of home affairs to profile accused peopke based on digital footprints, complaint data, and transaction histories. At the same time, bank fund trail analysis was deployed to detect and track mule accounts (accounts used to route fraudulently obtained money).The three-day operation, which began on June 2 and concluded in the early hours of June 4, led to arrests linked to 159 cybercrime cases statewide.

Among the accused were six key players behind more than 30 shell companies and 100 bank mule agents. These are people who lend or sell their bank accounts to scamsters to move illicit funds and obscure the original source.During the raids, police seized 125 mobile phones, 304 bank accounts, 88 cheque books, 107 debit and credit cards, and 35 desktops — assets central to the functioning of fraudulent networks. The operation built on the earlier Thiraineekku-I effort in Dec 2024.

Officials said investigations are still underway to track additional suspects, retrieve defrauded money, and identify inter-state linkages.Calling it one of the largest operations of its kind in the country, DGP Shankar Jiwal commended the cybercrime wing.