LUCKNOW, March 20 -- In a major breakthrough against cyber fraud, Mirzapur district police have busted an interstate racket involved in collecting, refurbishing and supplying old mobile phones to cybercrime networks, arresting eight accused and recovering over 11,600 devices worth nearly Rs.1 crore, senior police officials said in a press note shared by state police headquarters on Thursday. On Thursday, director general of police Rajeev Krishna announced a Rs.1 lakh cash reward for the police team and commended its efforts. Officials said the crackdown was carried out by a joint team of Lalganj police station and the SOG/surveillance unit near Tendui toll plaza of Mirzapur district on the night of March 16. The accused were intercepted while transporting the consignment concealed inside a DCM truck. Police said a total of 11,605 mobile phones, eight motorcycles and Rs.48,800 in cash were seized over the past two days. The total estimated value of the recovered items is around Rs.1 crore. According to officials, the gang operated across multiple states, moving on motorcycles to rural and semi-urban areas where they exchanged utensils for old mobile phones, collected discarded devices, and also committed thefts. These phones were then repaired or dismantled, and their components and data were sold to cyber fraud syndicates operating out of Bihar and Kolkata. Investigators revealed that sensitive personal data extracted from these devices-including mobile numbers, Aadhaar and PAN details, bank account information and addresses-was used by cyber criminals to execute financial frauds and identity-based scams. "One of the arrested accused, who claimed to be a daily wager, had transactions exceeding Rs.45 lakh in his bank account over the past two years," a police officer said. The accused, all residents of Bihar's Katihar and Purnia districts, have been booked under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Lalganj police station. They were produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody. HTC...