CHANDIGARH: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it had raided four locations linked to a fake call-centre network accused of defrauding US citizens, and seized dozens of mobile phones, laptops and other digital devices.
The agency conducted searches in Patiala, Pune and Chandigarh on Monday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act as part of its investigation into a group allegedly operating call centres targeting American citizens.
The ED said it found three functioning call centres — two in Patiala and one in Pune — employing around 220 people at the time of the raids. It said the identities, roles and reporting structure of the employees were being verified.
According to the agency, the premises contained workstations, cubicles, computers, headsets, mobile phones and networking equipment.
The agency seized 66 mobile phones, 13 laptops, hard disks, communication equipment, cash and documents during the searches.
These searches, which began late on Tuesday at commercial premises linked to DM Web Solutions and Flying Feathers in Urban Estate Phase II in Patiala, continued on Wednesday.
ED said the Patiala call centres were involved in “cheating and extorting” American citizens, and that mobile phones and a laptop seized from employees contained data related to the alleged modus operandi and distribution of proceeds.
The central security agencies were put on guard while the local police provided an outer security ring to the raiding teams.
Documents, computer data and other records were examined, according to reports. The ED got a lead on some huge money transactions involving the firms and conducted raids in Mohali and Patiala, said sources.
Senior officials said two establishments operating from the area had been sealed while the searches were underway.
“The two call centres were being run for some time, and the role of certain well-connected people is also under probe,” said an officer.
The ED teams raided premises in Mohali and Patiala while probing fake call centres. Meanwhile, the agency also conducted searches at Plot No. 2010 in IT City, Sector 82A, Mohali.
Records and documents at the site were examined as part of the same investigation. The exact nature of the documents under scrutiny and the purpose of the searches are expected to become clear once the Enforcement Directorate issues an official statement on the matter.
Earlier last month, Enforcement Directorate (ED) teams raided the residence of a businessman in Ropar district in connection with an alleged Rs 100 crore cyber fraud case involving a call centre that allegedly duped foreign citizens.
The agency said the Pune call centre was operating the same alleged scheme.
The Chandigarh premises, described as a residence, was allegedly used by the network's mastermind to coordinate the Patiala operations.
The ED said it found a person there who was allegedly responsible for converting proceeds from US dollars into Indian rupees, and his role and related transactions were under examination.
The ED said it was examining calling scripts, dialer and VoIP-based systems, victim data, payment channels and the flow of funds to identify those involved and trace the alleged proceeds of crime.
(With inputs from Sumit Kumar)
