Andhra police busts international cybercrime network involved in telecom fraud

Amaravati, Dec 26 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh CID, with the help of the Department of Telecommunication, arrested 14 members of an international cybercrime network involved in 'SIM Box operations' and telecom fraud, said a police official on Friday.

Cyber Crimes Superintendent of Police (SP) Adhiraj Singh Rana said the accused, including 2 foreign nationals, were involved in converting international calls into local GSM calls using devices called 'SIM Boxes', causing a total financial loss of about Rs 20 crore.

"AP-CID, in coordination with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), has arrested 14 members of an international cybercrime network involved in SIM Box operations and telecom fraud," said Rana, addressing a press conference here.

Cyber criminals located in South-East Asian countries such as Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Malaysia routed internet-based Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls through SIM Boxes installed in India, he said.

The calls appeared local, deceiving recipients, while foreign operators communicated instructions to Indian associates via Telegram and WhatsApp, said Rana.

Police discovered a sophisticated modus operandi involving the secret import of SIM Box devices through courier services using fake names and temporary addresses, installed in rented houses in multiple states.

The SP said that special teams conducted raids in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Hyderabad (Telangana), Rourkela (Odisha), Nalanda (Bihar), Arambol (Goa), and Kolkata (West Bengal), apprehending a Vietnamese national along with Indian local operators and Point of Sale (POS) agents.

Police recovered 14 SIM Boxes, 22 mobile phones, 8 routers, 7 cameras, 1 laptop, 3 uninterruptible power supply (UPS) devices, 1 inverter with a battery, a monitor, and nearly 1,500 SIM cards from the accused.

According to officials, the accused were arrested on December 24, while the investigation continues to track wider networks, money flows, and additional fraudulent activities orchestrated through SIM Box operations.

Meanwhile, the Police have registered a case. PTI MS ADB