Pramesh S Jain
Ten SIM box devices with capacity for 320 SIM connections seized.
Network suspected to be linked to digital-arrest scams, sextortion and financial frauds across India.
The Karnataka Cyber Command Unit has busted an illegal SIM box network operating from two apartments in Bengaluru’s Whitefield area,seizing 10 GSM gateway devices with a combined capacity of 320 SIM connections.
The same criminal network is suspected to have established and operated both facilities,with investigators probing its possible links to digital-arrest scams, sextortion and financial cyber frauds across the country.
The operation,conducted in coordination with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT),Karnataka, led to the detection of two facilities —one in Kadugodi and another in Pattandur Agrahara,both falling under the Whitefield Cyber Crime Police Station limits.
The case was registered as on August 26,following a complaint by the Chief Circle Nodal Officer of Bharti Airtel Limited,Bengaluru,alleging the unauthorised use of Airtel SIM cards in a SIM box setup operating in the Whitefield and Kadugodi areas.
A detailed investigation was subsequently launched, leading police to the two facilities.
At Kadugodi,the police recovered six SIM box devices, each equipped with 32 SIM slots,providing a total capacity of 192 connections.
The devices were configured with e-SIM-provisioned connections from various telecom service providers.
At Pattandur Agrahara,four additional SIM box devices, each with 32 SIM slots, were seized, taking the total capacity at the second location to 128 connections.
Together,the two facilities had the capacity to accommodate 320 SIM connections.
Investigators have established that the two facilities were set up and operated by the same network of accused,pointing to a coordinated telecommunications infrastructure rather than isolated installations.
The recovered equipment is suspected to have been used to facilitate fraudulent communications and other cybercrime activities.
The devices are being examined to determine their precise operational role and establish links with the suspected offenders.
Preliminary leads indicate that the wider network could involve substantial financial exposure,potentially running into hundreds of crores of rupees.
However,the actual number of victims,the total financial losses and the full extent of the suspected network are yet to be established.
The investigation is continuing,with inter-agency coordination underway to trace the network’s operations and identify its links to cyber fraud cases across India.
