The Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha Police arrested a key member of an interstate gang involved in a racket in mule bank accounts from West Bengal, an official said on Thursday.

The well-organised racket operated mainly in the tri-junction area of Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal especially in the districts of Balasore, Mayurbhanj, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Saraikela.

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The racketeers were selling mule bank accounts along with the connected mobile numbers to various cyber-financial, sextortion scammers and other criminals based at Kolkata and other parts of India.

Based on an intelligence input about a huge racket in mule bank Accounts, the STF arrested three scammers in October last.

Samim Islam of the Murshidabad district of West Bengal was arrested yesterday and was produced before Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Lalbag, Murshidabad. After three days of transit remand, he was brought to Bhubaneswar. He will now be produced before the court of SDJM, Bhubaneswar, said STF.

The racketeers had employed around 10-15 people at Rs 15,000 a month to open bank accounts. They would visit interior areas of these districts targeting mainly poor villagers and tribal people and persuade them to open bank accounts. The villagers are generally offered Rs 2,000 per account for giving their documents and opening the bank accounts.

However, the mobile numbers linked to the bank accounts are provided by the gang members. The rate of 2,000 per account differs depending on the bargaining and awareness level of the villager.

The gang then would sell these bank accounts along with the connected mobile numbers to various Cyber, cyber-financial, sextortion scammers and other criminals based at Kolkata and other parts of India.

They also use social media platforms like secret WhatsApp groups, Facebook pages, Telegram to sell the mule bank accounts. They sell mule bank accounts at the rate of Rs 15,000 to 20,000 per account.

So far, they have sold around five thousands mule bank accounts at different platforms. It has also come to the notice that the scammers frequently change the bank accounts. Generally, they abandon the bank accounts once it reaches a transaction of Rs one lakh, concluded STF.