The Taiwan-Associated Cybercrime Syndicate broke: Investigative Sleuthing Reveals ₹100 Crore Worldwide ‘Digital Arrest’ Swindle.

New Delhi, January 11, 2026 – This has seen the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) Unit of the Delhi Police break a complex international network of defrauding the Indian citizens of up to ₹100 crore (USD 12 million) through a complex system of international digital arrest syndicates in a major step forward to addressing transnational cyber fraud in India. This operation revealed a Taiwan-based connection in the core of the network, revealing a multi-layered network of cross-border cybercrime that operated across China, Cambodia, Nepal and Pakistan.

The fraud was being carried out in the name of fake police calls. Imposters who would claim to be an Anti-Terrorism Squad or police officials would inform victims that their phone numbers or bank accounts were related to criminal activity. In their method, named the digital arrest, they have blackmailed the targets to remain online until they have exhausted their hours by sending money to secure accounts under the control of the scammers.

The syndicate was headed by a Taiwanese citizen, I-Tsung Chen (30), who was the technical coordinator of the syndicate. He was caught in an attempt to fly to the country at Delhi at Indira Gandhi International Airport. Forensic analysis of the digital evidence that was captured indicated that Chen had installed and used SIM box systems that were illegal telecom equipment that could store hundreds of SIM cards and masquerade as a local Indian number abroad.

Researchers also confiscated 22 SIM box devices, more than 20,000 SIM cards, various servers and smartphones, which were used to enable the scam. The forensic team has identified and mapped the operations of the syndicate with over 5,000 IMEI numbers in its network across Delhi, Mohali, Mumbai, and Coimbatore.

Officials described the bust as one of the largest operations to crack down on cybercrime in Indian history, led by the forensic police. The case illustrates that online fraud, which is now being systematised, is being cracked down upon by conducting a forensic examination of the digital devices used.

The arrests are an important step in the international cooperation to fight telecom-related cyber frauds, which highlights how forensic science and intelligence sharing across borders are transforming the global war on digital crime.