Bengaluru: In a major breakthrough, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) Cyber Crime Police have arrested two individuals for illegally converting international calls into local calls, causing multi-crore revenue losses to the Government of India and telecom operators.
The arrested accused have been identified as Fayaz M.A (31) and Mohammed Safaf (30), both hailing from Malappuram district in Kerala.
According to investigators, the racket came to light after one of the accused’s relatives, who works in Dubai, highlighted how high international call rates were affecting migrant workers trying to contact families in India. Sensing a profit opportunity, the accused began exploiting telecom loopholes to reroute international calls as local ones.
They illegally acquired SIM cards via international courier, set up SIM box technology, and used the system to bypass legitimate international call routing. Operating from a rented house in Immadihalli near Whitefield, they reportedly earned crores of rupees from the scam and transferred profits via hawala channels to handlers abroad.
Based on a complaint filed by a nodal officer of Bharti Airtel on July 30, the CCB launched a raid and seized 703 SIM cards, SIM boxes, and other technical equipment. The FIR also stated that such illegal SIM box setups posed a threat to national security by enabling untraceable international calls and unregistered telecom exchanges.
Preliminary investigations have confirmed that the illegal exchange had been in operation for at least six months. The cyber crime police are currently assessing the exact financial damage to the exchequer and telecom service providers.
