Two arrested with 441 bogus SIM cards

The Mumbai Crime Branch’s Unit-9 arrested two individuals for allegedly possessing 441 bogus SIM cards from various companies

Mumbai: The Mumbai Crime Branch’s Unit-9 arrested two individuals for allegedly possessing 441 bogus SIM cards from various companies.

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The accused, Bhavesh Gothi, 29, a stationery business owner from Ganesh Nagar, Dahisar (East), and Bharat Suthar, 28, a SIM card retailer from Juhu Galli, Andheri (West), are natives of Gujarat. Police are investigating whether they had previously sold bogus SIM cards to criminal gangs and if proper documentation was followed. Both were produced in court and remanded in police custody until July 19.

Senior inspector Daya Nayak of Crime Branch’s Unit-9 received a tip-off about a person carrying bogus SIM cards to Bandra. Acting on this information, a police team set a trap near the Bandra Reclamation flyover at around 4 PM on Saturday. They arrested the two suspects and discovered 441 bogus SIM cards during the search.

During interrogation, the suspects allegedly confessed that the SIM cards belonged to them and were intended for sale. The police found their explanations unsatisfactory, leading to their detention and further questioning at the unit office in Bandra.

The case was registered at Bandra Police Station, with 311 bogus SIM cards found in Gothi’s possession and 130 in Suthar’s possession.