Businessman held in SIM card smuggling racket

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: Officials at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in the city unearthed another pre-activated SIM card smuggling racket following the arrest of a businessman.

A case has been registered with the Bengaluru North East Division Cyber Crime Police regarding the matter.

Security personnel at the KIA in Bengaluru recently found a consignment with pre-activated SIM cards heading to Taiwan and Cambodia through an international courier company.

Based on a complaint, the North East Division police tracked down the accused to Visakhapatnam. A probe revealed that a consignment concealed 24 SIM cards. The parcel was booked in the name of Srinivasa Rao from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, and was destined for Taiwan.

Srinivasa Rao used to collect SIM cards from Chennai and Visakhapatnam using fake documents and send them to his contacts through international courier, the police said.

Following a probe, it was also revealed that Rao was allegedly part of an international cyber crime racket and was responsible for supplying pre-activated SIM cards to gangs operating in Taiwan and Cambodia targeting victims from India, said the police.

Recently, another parcel concealing 114 SIM cards booked in the name of Syed from Chennai was booked for Cambodia. The airport police have registered a case under the Telecommunications Act.

The police have asked the staff of the international courier agencies to keep a watch on suspicious parcels.

In March this year, the Delhi Police had arrested four men who were sending hundreds of SIM cards to Vietnam every month. Gujarat's Surat police arrested two people and seized 192 SIM cards that were being sent to Dubai.