Another pre-activated SIM card racket unearthed in Odisha; 7 telecom staff among 8 arrested 

The Cyber Police in Cuttack has busted another pre-activated SIM card racket and arrested eight persons in this connection.

As per reports, around 800 SIM cards including 300 pre-activated ones were seized. Police sources said seven of the arrested accused are staff of a private telecom company.

The seven accused hail from Puri district and police have seized 16 mobile phones and Rs 2600 from their possession.

Cuttack DCP Pinak Mishra said that earlier a case was registered last year and a complainant had alleged that one person had contacted him for renting a house. Later, the person had looted Rs 57,000 from the complainant’s account in a cyber fraud.

During the probe, it was found that a group from Rajasthan and Western Uttar Pradesh was involved in the fraud. The team could not locate the prime accused as several technical aspects and investigation was pending.

“We found that the SIM which was used in the fraud was activated in Odisha. Later, we managed to nab eight persons and recovered 800 SIM cards, including 300 pre-activated SIM cards. The accused had come in contact with a fraudster from outside the state and learnt the tricks to activate SIM cards by becoming vendors and misusing the identity of consumers,” said Mishra.

Mishra further informed that the gang was in contact with professional fraudsters outside the state and used to hand over the pre-activated SIM cards to them.

On March 18, 2022 the Cuttack Cyber Police had busted a racket involved in preparing and supplying pre-activated SIM cards to fraudsters. Two persons were arrested in this connection while around 250 pre-activated SIM cards of various service provider companies were seized from their possession.

On May 1 last year, the Cyber cell of Odisha Crime Branch arrested three persons, including the mastermind of a major gang that was selling pre-activated SIM cards used by fraudsters to commit cyber crimes.

Around 19641 pre-activated SIM cards, Rs 14 lakh cash, 48 mobile phones, laptop, xerox copies of several photo identity cards and other documents were seized during the raid in Dhenkanal.