Two arrested for operating illegal telephone exchange in Bengaluru

Officials of the Central Crime Branch on August 4 busted an international illegal telephone racket operating in Bengaluru and arrested two persons who were converting international calls to local calls using a SIM box and mobile app.

The accused — Fayaz MA, 31, and Mohammed Saffaf, 30 — are from Mallapuram in Kerala. They were operating the racket from a rented accommodation at Immadihalli in Bengaluru for the past six months, said the police.

The accused were allegedly making crores of rupees through the racket, and sharing the money with their handler in the Gulf through hawala on a monthly basis.

Based on information from a private service provider and the Telecom Department, CCB officials raided the premises and arrested the duo. The CCB seized 703 SIM cards and other equipment used for the racket.

The accused would get the SIM cards from foreign countries by courier and earn around ₹5 lakh per month illegally. The police suspect that many more people are involved in the racket, and efforts are on to track them down.

“The racket is useful for migrant labourers who work in Gulf countries, and make calls to their families through this facility at cheaper rates,” the police said.

City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh, appreciating the CCB operation for cracking the case, said that the loss to the exchequer and the crime angle are being probed in detail.