The cyber police stations across the State are planning to continue with an intensified investigation under ‘Operation Cy-Hunt’, the State-wide crackdown on cyber fraud networks, following its thumping success in netting hundreds of suspects involved in major online scams. The move to step up the drive comes in the wake of encouraging results from the initial two-day phase, which uncovered a vast network of intermediaries operating within the State and their suspicious links with national and international counterparts.
Officials with the State’s Hi-Tech Crime Inquiry Cell confirmed that the cyber police stations in Kerala had already accessed detailed information on 2,683 persons suspected of playing key roles in facilitating fraudulent fund transfers. Based on the latest data, Station House Officers of various cyber police stations would join forces for district-level and State-level investigations, they said.
“Launched as one of the most extensive and coordinated actions against cybercrime in recent years, the latest Operation Cy-Hunt was the result of a year-long investigation that involved analysing call detail records, bank transactions, and reliable intelligence inputs from multiple sources,” revealed an Assistant Commissioner of Police who was part of the State-wide raid on Thursday (October 30, 2025). He said the police had registered 439 first information reports on Thursday alone and arrested 284 suspects, most of whom were suspected of selling their bank accounts to third parties for commission-based rewards after each fraudulent transaction.
The operation covered all districts on Thursday, with the Ernakulam Rural police initially recording the highest number of 43 arrests. Malappuram came second with 30 arrests followed by Kannur City and Kozhikode city, which each reported 23 arrests. Alappuzha recorded the highest number of 50 cases, followed by Kozhikode (43 cases). Cyber squads conducted 714 searches, seizing 88 electronic devices used in cyber fraud operations. The squads brought 72 suspects under interrogation while 147 others were served notices for further inquiry.
A senior police officer who took part in the State-wide operation described Cy-Hunt as a “surgical strike” on cyber fraudsters, stating that it marked only the beginning of a wider action plan. He said the police zeroed in on over 1,000 new suspects based on fresh evidence from the arrested individuals adding that recovered digital and documentary evidence would help uncover large-scale scams in the days to come.
Responding to criticisms from some social media users that the drive mainly targeted intermediaries rather than kingpins, the police officers who coordinated the operation in northern Kerala said many of those arrested were fully aware of their roles in the organised crimes frequently reported by the media. Many of the suspects, they clarified, had received a share of the defrauded money from higher tiers of the network.
Published – October 31, 2025 07:59 pm IST
