Thane police bust racket supplying SIM cards to cyber fraudsters, seize 3,000 SIMs
Thane cyber police arrest three individuals from Chhattisgarh with 3,000 forged SIM cards in online share trading fraud, revealing international connections to Dubai, Cambodia, and China.
THANE: Thane cyber police have arrested three individuals from Chhattisgarh and seized around 3,000 SIM cards obtained using forged documents, which were used to dupe people through online share trading frauds. The arrests revealed the racket’s international connections to Dubai, Cambodia, and China.
Rising incidents of investment fraud in Thane prompted cyber police to track down the trio. Their arrest led to the recovery of the SIM cards and the exposure of their operation. The arrested individuals, who are educated, primarily supplied SIM cards to fraudsters operating from foreign locations.
Recently, 16 cases of online share trading fraud were registered in Zone 5 of Thane, where victims were promised good returns and duped of lakhs of rupees. The fraudsters created WhatsApp groups and convinced individuals to invest more money.
A team from the Thane Cyber cell, led by Assistant Police Inspectors Pradip Sarfare and Mangalsingh Chavhan, and guided by Assistant Police Commissioner Dattatray Pable, investigated the cases. Deputy Commissioner of Police Parag Manere explained that the frauds were perpetrated using over 2,600 SIM cards activated in Chhattisgarh and Tripura. The Internet Protocol addresses of these numbers were traced to Hong Kong.
In one case registered at Chitalsar Manpada police station, a complainant was duped of ₹29 lakh. The police traced the handset used in the fraud to Raipur in Chhattisgarh. “Through the IMEI number of the handset, we located the users in New Shanti Nagar, Raipur district of Chhattisgarh. It was challenging to track the accused solely through the IMEI, but our team overcame difficulties and succeeded in tracing two accused - Aftab Dhebar, 22, and Manishkumar Deshmukh, 27,” Manere said.
The third arrested individual, Delhi-based Bhaijan aka Hafij Ahemad, 48, sold the activated SIM cards to fraud call centres in Dubai and Hong Kong. The accused charged ₹1,500 per SIM card, providing them to overseas centres that used them for fraudulent WhatsApp groups. The group had ties with a major SIM card provider in India, activating multiple SIM cards under the same name.
The police are investigating links to other associated channels. The accused, who spent their earnings on a lavish lifestyle, are educated in technology-related fields. Officials are scrutinizing their bank transactions. The accused are involved in 14 cybercrime cases across different states, including Rajasthan, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Kerala.