Karnataka Cyber Command Busts Illegal SIM Box Network in Bengaluru, Four Arrested

The Karnataka Cyber Command Unit has busted an illegal SIM box network operating from two apartments in Bengaluru, arresting four people suspected of links to digital-arrest scams, sextortion and other financial cyber frauds across the country.

A joint operation by the police and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Karnataka, led to the seizure of 10 SIM box devices from apartments in Kadugodi and Pattandur Agrahara, both under the Whitefield division, an official release said on Thursday.

Six devices, each equipped with 32 SIM slots, were recovered from Kadugodi, while four similar devices were seized from Pattandur Agrahara. The two facilities had a combined capacity of 320 SIM connections, investigators said.

The Cyber Crime Police Station (CCPS), Whitefield, registered a case on August 26 following a complaint by Bharti Airtel's Chief Circle Nodal Officer in Bengaluru regarding the suspected unauthorised use of Airtel SIM cards in a SIM box setup.

Investigators established that both facilities were set up and operated by the same network of accused, the release said.

The seized equipment is suspected to have been used to facilitate fraudulent communications linked to cybercrime activities. However, its precise role and possible connections with the suspected offenders are still being examined.

The four arrested accused are residents of Tiroda in Maharashtra's Gondia district. Investigators are probing their suspected involvement in the supply of SIM cards and their conversion into e-SIM profiles for use in the network.

Preliminary leads suggest that the wider network could involve financial exposure running into hundreds of crores of rupees. However, the number of victims, actual losses and the full extent of the alleged operation are yet to be established, police said.