66 held for supply of SIMs tied to 76 frauds worth Rs 101 cr

HYDERABAD: In a major operation spanning 13 states under "Operation Octopus", Hyderabad police arrested 66 people allegedly involved in supplying ghost SIM cards to cybercriminals. Officers said the SIMs were linked to 76 fraud cases involving Rs 101 crore.

The arrests were made across Telangana, Karnataka, UP, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha after police found 1,164 illegally issued SIMs used in cybercrime cases.

Hyderabad police commissioner V C Sajjanar said 544 SIMs were seized, including 432 that were about to be dispatched to cybercriminals. Among those arrested, 44 had SIMs issued in their names, 20 operated temporary kiosks and two acted as middlemen.

Police said agents activated extra SIMs without customers' knowledge using eKYC and diverted them to cybercriminals. Some accused also lured people to surrender SIMs for money.

Police said that telecom providers would be asked to tighten verification systems and blacklist errant agents.