Indian police crackdowns on SIM box networks

Law enforcement agencies in India have conducted operations to dismantle illegal SIM box networks used to facilitate various cybercrimes.

In Bengaluru, the Karnataka Cyber Command and the Department of Telecommunications dismantled a network operating from two apartments in the Kadugodi and Pattandur Agrahara areas. Authorities seized ten SIM box devices with a capacity for 320 connections. The operation, prompted by a complaint from Bharti Airtel Limited, led to the arrest of four individuals from the Gondia district of Maharashtra. Investigators suspect the network used unauthorized Airtel SIM cards converted into e-SIM profiles to facilitate digital arrest scams, sextortion, and financial fraud involving hundreds of crores of rupees.

In Trichy, cybercrime police raided a location to bust a SIM box farm, arresting one man. Police seized multi-port GSM VoIP gateways and modems used to route international VoIP traffic through local SIM cards to appear as domestic activity. This setup was reportedly used for online investment frauds, including fake stock-market and cryptocurrency schemes, which resulted in losses of approximately ₹4.5 crore for over 100 residents.

Recent investigations have expanded to other regions. In Jamshedpur, cyber police arrested a vendor, Raunak Kumar, for allegedly distributing unverified SIM cards using forged identities. A raid in Birsanagar resulted in the seizure of 67 SIM cards and the arrest of five suspects. In Lucknow, the Crime Branch seized several 32-port SIM box devices, routers, and VPN gateways containing 192 active e-SIMs. Officials noted the hardware, reportedly made in China, may have been smuggled into the country disguised as sound amplifier components to mask international caller IDs for scams.