Kasaragod: A 34-year-old travel agent who allegedly lured her own relatives into a web of cybercrime was arrested on her arrival from Dubai at Mumbai airport, said Kasaragod police.

Kasaragod cyber police had issued a lookout circular against Sajida U, a Thalangara native, and Sabir B M (32) of Muttathody, after uncovering that the duo had been farming bank accounts to sell to cybercriminal networks abroad. Sajida was brought to Kasaragod and remanded in judicial custody on Friday, said police.

"Sabir is also in Dubai. He was running the travel agency as a cover for his cybercrime activities," said ASI Ranjith Kumar, who is part of the investigation.

The first complaint came from a 21-year-old woman from Kumbadaje panchayat, Sajida's relative by marriage. The young woman said Sajida approached her in early 2024, asking for help to receive some money. "She said she couldn’t receive money in her bank account and asked if I could open one for her," the complainant told Onmanorama.

Trusting Sajida, the young woman opened a Canara Bank account at the Cherkala branch and handed over everything -- the ATM card, internet banking credentials, and the SIM linked to the account. Sajida, the ASI said, insisted that the ATM card have international access.

Months later, the complainant's cousin received a notice from the Bengaluru Cyber Police, naming her as an accused in an online fraud case. Shocked, she discovered that the bank account she had opened for Sajida had been used for transactions amounting to several lakhs of rupees.

As the matter came up within the family, more unsettling details surfaced. It turned out that Sajida had made similar requests to at least four young relatives -- convincing each of them to open bank accounts and hand over complete control, including ATM cards, internet banking credentials, and linked SIM cards.

Alarmed by this revelation, the original complainant from Kumbadaje visited Canara Bank to check the status of her own account. To her horror, she found that lakhs of rupees had been routed through it since March 2024.

In November, all four cousins approached the Kasaragod Cyber Police and lodged separate complaints against Sajida, formally accusing her of betrayal and cyber fraud.

Police said their investigation found that Sajida had targeted at least six individuals who are homemakers and students, convincing them to open bank accounts for her. During interrogation, Sajida reportedly told police that Sabir was only one link in a larger cybercrime network. According to her, he sold access to these mule accounts to Chinese operators in Dubai. "The money reaching these accounts was being withdrawn using ATM cards abroad," Ranjith Kumar said.