PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE /Dehradun
The Special Task Force (SIT) has busted an illegal telecom gateway being operated through SIM Boxes in Bazpur, Udham Singh Nagar and arrested a 24-year-old man on Tuesday. The setup was being used to convert foreign and VoIP calls into Indian mobile calls, making it difficult to identify the real caller, STF officials said.
The accused was identified as Qadir, a resident of Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh. The STF senior superintendent of police Ajai Singh said said the illegal gateway was being operated from a house near Idgah in Mudiya, Bazpur. During the raid, the team recovered two SIM Boxes, 77 antennas, 114 Airtel SIM cards, an internet router, a mobile phone and other telecom equipment.
Singh said that the SIM Box system converted internet-based or foreign calls into calls appearing to come from Indian mobile numbers. This allowed callers to hide their actual identity and location. Investigators also found that SIM cards issued using the identities of different people were being used in the setup.
He said the accused had been operating the gateway for around seven months. His preliminary questioning also indicated links with cyber criminals in Bangladesh, police said. Investigators are now checking his foreign contacts, bank accounts and other members of the network.
He said SIM Boxes can be misused in digital arrest scams, impersonation frauds and other cyber crimes. The accused had also been arrested in Moradabad in 2023 in another illegal telecom gateway case and is currently out on bail. The STF is also investigating the role of agents who may have supplied SIM cards using fake or other people’s documents.
