Indian police investigate illegal SIM card and SIM box networks

Law enforcement agencies in India are conducting intensified investigations into illegal telecommunications networks used to facilitate cybercrime.

In Jamshedpur, cyber police have targeted a network supplying fraudulent SIM cards to criminals. Authorities arrested a vendor, Raunak Kumar, who allegedly distributed unverified cards using forged identities to bypass mandatory documentation. A recent raid in Birsanagar resulted in the seizure of 67 SIM cards and the arrest of five suspects. Investigators are analyzing the cards to trace linked bank accounts and victims of nationwide fraud.

In Lucknow, the Crime Branch is probing a sophisticated illegal SIM box network. Police seized several 32-port SIM box devices, routers, and VPN gateways, which reportedly contained 192 active e-SIMs. Officials noted that the hardware, marked as made in China, may have been smuggled into the country disguised as sound amplifier components. These devices are used to convert foreign Voice-over-IP calls into local telecom traffic, masking international caller IDs to appear as domestic numbers for scams such as digital arrests.