Ahmedabad: Gujarat police has carried out a "historic surgical strike" on mule accounts used by cyber criminals to cheat citizens, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi said on Thursday.

It was decided on December 8 to identify suspicious mule accounts, after which police launched an operation, resulting in 508 crimes being registered and 423 accused being arrested in just nine days, said Sanghavi.

Mule accounts are used by criminals to receive and quickly transfer illegally obtained funds.

"Gujarat police has carried out a historic surgical strike on mule accounts used by cyber criminals," he said while addressing an event at Ahmedabad Rural Police headquarters in Makarba area.

"Just a few days ago, in a single day, we were able to recover Rs 33 crore from cyber criminals. This month, there were five days during which over 3,000 people called helpline 1930 and were saved from cyber thugs," the Deputy CM informed.

Launching the ADR-Shield, a human resource management system (HRMS) designed to manage data of workers arriving from across the country, he said, "All data will be available on a single portal. It will help identify criminals residing here under the guise of employment."

Sanghavi inaugurated Khaki Bhavan, a modern residential facility for police personnel, during the event.

He also launched the 'Blue Circuit' project aimed at rainwater harvesting and the 'Abhayyatri' project, a safety initiative for autorickshaw passengers, a release said.

Projects like Abhayyatri will increase public trust in the police, the release quoted him as saying.

He also commended HRMS initiative for police personnel data, the release added.

In addition, he inaugurated the Aslali Divisional Police Officer's office and laid the foundation stone of the Viramgam Police Line.