Racket that provided mobile connections to cybercriminals, including Pakistanis, busted; 7 arrested

Guwahati: Seven people were arrested as the Assam Police on Saturday claimed to have busted a racket that provided mobile phone connections to cybercriminals, including Pakistanis, for opening WhatsApp accounts to dupe people.

Addressing a press conference, DGP Harmeet Singh said 'Operation Ghost SIM' was launched based on information provided by military intelligence about a racket operating with bases in Assam, Rajasthan and Telangana.

"This information was further developed into actionable inputs by the Special Branch and Special Task Force of the Assam Police," he said.

The arrests were made since Friday afternoon in simultaneous raids in two districts of Assam, one district of Telangana and two districts of Rajasthan, he added.

Apart from helping cybercriminals in the country get new mobile connections, the racket provided criminals in Pakistan with WhatsApp accounts having Indian mobile numbers, Singh said.

Victims believed that they were receiving calls from Indian numbers, but in reality, those were made from Pakistan, he said.

Fifteen people are being questioned, and among them are those in whose names the SIM cards were issued, the DGP said.

A total of 948 SIM cards were seized, along with other electronic devices, he said.