Junagadh: Local police on Wednesday arrested a councillor of the Junagadh Municipal Corporation, his brother, and two associates, booking them under the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime Act (GujCTOC) for their alleged involvement in multiple serious criminal cases, including cyberfraud.

The complaint was registered at the Junagadh City A Division Police Station against Ward No. 3 councillor Abbas Ibrahim, also known as Gambler Qureshi; his brother Aslam Ibrahim, alias Lalo or Gambler Qureshi; Shahbaz Qureshi, alias Shahebaz; and Kareem Sida. Notably, Aslam is also a former BJP councillor.

Junagadh Superintendent of Police Subodh Odedra stated that the accused are members of an organised criminal syndicate known as the “Gambler Gang,” which has a long history of criminal activity.

Investigations indicate that the accused have been involved in organised criminal operations in Junagadh city for nearly a decade. Their alleged offences include attempted murder, extortion, illegal confinement, possession of weapons, physical assault, damage to private property, attacks on police personnel, issuing death threats, and cyber-related fraud.

According to the police complaint, Aslam has been leading the gang for several years. Investigators revealed that the group allegedly carried out cyberfraud by using bank accounts obtained from various individuals either on rent or on commission. Funds siphoned from victims were routed through multiple online accounts, converted into cash through different channels, and in some cases transferred into cryptocurrencies to conceal the money trail.

It is learnt that Aslam has at least five criminal cases registered against him in Junagadh over the past decade, including rioting, assault, attempted murder, Arms Act violations, criminal intimidation and cyberfraud. Abbas Ibrahim faces around 12 cases involving rioting, extortion, assault, death threats, criminal conspiracy, Arms Act offences, attempted murder and atrocity-related charges. DeshGujarat