Andhra police bust international telecom fraud network, 14 arrested

The Andhra Pradesh Criminal Investigation Department (CID) , in coordination with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), has busted an international cybercrime and telecom fraud network involved in illegal SIM Box operations , arresting 14 persons , including two foreign nationals , officials said on Friday.

Police identified one foreign national as a Vietnamese citizen , while the nationality of the other foreign accused has not been disclosed .

The racket, which had operational links to several South-East Asian countries , is estimated to have caused a telecom revenue loss of around ₹20 crore .

Addressing a press conference, Cyber Crimes Superintendent of Police Adhiraj Singh Rana said the accused illegally converted international internet-based calls into local Indian mobile calls using specialised devices known as SIM Boxes .

According to police, cyber criminals operating from countries such as Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Malaysia generated calls using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) platforms. Instead of routing these calls through authorised international gateways , the calls were transmitted over the internet to India.

Once inside the country, the calls were routed through SIM Box devices installed at various locations. Each SIM Box contained multiple Indian SIM cards and converted internet calls into local GSM calls, making them appear domestic to recipients. This helped the accused bypass international call charges and evade telecom monitoring systems, police said.

Investigators said the SIM Box devices were illegally imported through courier services using fake identities and temporary addresses. The equipment was installed in rented houses across different states. Indian associates, including local operators and Point of Sale (POS) agents, arranged large numbers of SIM cards, which were frequently rotated to avoid detection. The equipment was kept operational round-the-clock using UPS systems and inverters.

Police said foreign handlers coordinated the operations and payments using encrypted messaging applications such as Telegram and WhatsApp .

The racket came to light after the Department of Telecommunications detected abnormal call traffic patterns, including unusually high call volumes from fixed locations and multiple SIM cards operating simultaneously. Based on this information, the AP-CID analysed Call Detail Records (CDRs), IP addresses and SIM usage data, which pointed to SIM Box-related activity.

On December 24, special CID teams conducted simultaneous raids at multiple locations, including Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Hyderabad (Telangana), Rourkela (Odisha), Nalanda (Bihar), Arambol (Goa) and Kolkata (West Bengal).

During the raids, police arrested 14 accused and seized equipment allegedly being used for the illegal operations. The seized items included 14 SIM Box devices, nearly 1,500 SIM cards, 22 mobile phones, eight routers, seven CCTV cameras, one laptop, three UPS devices, an inverter with battery and a monitor.

A case has been registered, and further investigation is underway to trace money trails, overseas handlers and additional networks linked to the operation. Police said more arrests are likely as the probe progresses.