India, Sept. 16 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has busted two operational fake call centres in Patiala that were allegedly cheating and extorting US nationals, officials said on Wednesday.

The raids, conducted on September 15 and 16, were part of an ongoing money laundering probe into an international scam syndicate.

Simultaneous searches across four premises in Patiala, Pune, and Chandigarh uncovered around 220 employees working across three active call centres-two in Patiala and one in Pune. ED officials are currently verifying the identities, roles, and reporting structures of all staff present during the raids.

Investigators revealed that a mastermind allegedly coordinated and controlled the Patiala operations from a residenti...