ED freezes over 100 'mule' accounts, seizes Rs 70 lakh cash in cocaine trafficking case
New Delhi (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate has frozen 110 "mule" bank accounts, seized Rs 70 lakh in cash and found usage of Dubai-based cryptocurrency wallets during searches in a money laundering case linked to alleged drug trafficking in Delhi, a statement said on Sunday.
Mule bank accounts are used to transfer illicit funds and are opened by misusing genuine or using fake customer IDs.
The raids were undertaken on November 14 after the federal probe agency took cognisance of a Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) complaint of November 2024 related to the seizure of 82.53 kg of "high-grade" cocaine.
The ED covered five premises in Delhi-NCR and Jaipur during the searches.
The seized party drug was estimated to be worth Rs 900 crore by the NCB and five persons were arrested by the central anti-narcotics agency.
"The searches indicated an online betting and gambling network being operated through mobile-based applications.
"The operation resulted in the freezing of 110 mule bank accounts, including 73 linked with UPI IDs and digital wallets that were actively being used for handling transactions related to the betting operations," the ED statement said.
Some documents and digital devices seized during the searches show the use of Dubai-based cryptocurrency wallets for the transfer of funds, it said.
Rs 70 lakh cash, "incriminating" documents, digital devices and financial records were also seized, the ED said.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
