Jharkhand: Jamtara police arrest man with 377 fake SIM cards

Jamtara, Sep 18 (PTI) Jharkhand Police has arrested a person who procured hundreds of SIM cards from Assam to be sold to cyber criminals, officials said on Thursday.

Jamtara SP Rajkumar Mehta told PTI that a team, led by cyber police station in-charge Manoj Kumar Mahato, was formed following repeated complaints about cybercrimes committed using SIM cards obtained with fake identity documents.

"Based on intelligence inputs, we conducted a raid at Navadih village under Karmatar police station limits on Wednesday and arrested Akbar Hussain. We recovered 377 illegal SIM cards all purchased from a supplier in Assam. They were purchased using fake identity cards," the Jamtara SP said.

He added that these SIM cards were to have been sold to cybercriminals not only in Jamtara, but also in neighbouring districts.

Mehta said the team also recovered a flight ticket from the arrested person who confessed that he used to travel to Assam by flights and return with the SIM cards by train.

"We also recovered two mobile phones containing fake SIM cards. Three ATM cards, an Aadhaar card, and an Indigo flight ticket were recovered. The accused has confessed of selling SIM cards in the local market for Rs 2,500 each," the SP said.

The SP said they are trying to trace the fake SIM card seller in Assam and hinted that the arrested accused might be part of a large network of cybercriminals.

Significantly, Jamtara has gained notoriety for cybercrimes in this part of the country. PTI ANB MNB