E-Paper
Security Threat: Illegal phone exchange busted in Meerut, six held
The gang was illegally converting international voice over internet protocol (VoIP) calls into local calls, causing significant revenue loss to the central government
In a major crackdown, a joint team of the Meerut police and the department of telecommunications (DoT) uncovered an illegal mini telephone exchange operating in the Lakhhipura area of Meerut district.
The raid, conducted late on Sunday night, resulted in the arrest of six people. The police have also dispatched a team to Noida in search of other members of the network.
According to SP City Ayush Vikram Singh, the gang was illegally converting international voice over internet protocol (VoIP) calls into local calls, causing significant revenue loss to the central government. This method also concealed the identity of callers, making them difficult to trace and posing serious national security risks. “None of the arrested individuals are well-educated, but they were engaged in a highly sophisticated operation,” the SP said.
The gang was charging between ₹1,000 to ₹1,500 per minute for the calls, reportedly earning ₹35,000 to ₹40,000 daily. Payments were made via cryptocurrency, which the accused later sold and split among themselves. SIM cards required for the operation were procured at ₹1,000 each.
The gang’s social media links also came to light during the investigation. A Facebook profile under the name Anshuman Gupta was reportedly helping them acquire SIM cards by courier after online payments. Additionally, the VoIP gateway devices were supplied not only to the arrested suspects but also to others residing in Lakhhipura, whose details are now being investigated.
The raid took place after police received information about suspicious activities near a house close to the water tank behind Nafisa Masjid. Upon inspection, an illegal mini telephone exchange was discovered. The arrested individuals include: Aas Mohammad and his brother Mohammad Chand alias Sonu, Qasim and his brother Hashim, Sarfraz and Mohammad Imran. All the accused are residents of Meerut district.
The police confiscated several items used for the operation, including: A VoIP gateway device with 32 SIM slots, 4 Wi-Fi routers, 22 SIM cards, 3 laptops, 5 Android mobile phones, 2 keypad mobile phones, adapters, router cables and HDMI cable.
A case was registered against the accused under charges of fraud, criminal conspiracy, the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933, and provisions of the Information Technology Act.
The SP confirmed that the gang had been running the illegal exchange for a considerable period. “The accused have been sent to jail following court orders,” he said.
A similar raid was conducted in Lakhhipura on March 19 this year by the central agencies and DoT teams. At that time, four individuals, including the son of a municipal employee, were arrested, but the local police were only informed after the operation was completed. This led to questions being raised about the role and response of local authorities.
