The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) carried out searches at 42 locations across eight Indian states and arrested five people as part of its ongoing Operation Chakra-V — a coordinated crackdown on transnational organised cybercrime, including cases of ‘digital arrests’.

The operation targets Point of Sale (PoS) agents of telecom operators who are allegedly working in collusion with cybercriminals and unidentified telecom company executives to issue SIM cards used in a range of cyber offences, including digital arrests, impersonation scams, fraudulent investment schemes, UPI frauds and fake advertisements.