Uttar Pradesh’s Special Task Force (STF) on Thursday arrested two alleged members of an organised syndicate involved in illicit SIM card activation at Lal Gopalganj in Prayagraj’s Nawabganj police area. The arrests follow intelligence that the duo supplied illegally activated SIMs to cybercriminals nationwide, leveraging telecom company insiders and forged identification.
Key Suspects, Seized Evidence, and Motivations
The arrested individuals, identified as Sandeep Pandey (35)—son of Raghvendra Pandey from Pratapgarh—and Mohammed Naufeel (34) of ‘Marshal Mobile’ in Lal Gopalganj, were caught operating with forged documents and fake Aadhaar-based KYC. A bounty of ₹25,000 had already been placed on Sandeep by Chitrakoot police. Authorities seized crucial evidence: four mobile phones, 239 blank SIMs, three ATM cards, 36 Aadhaar cards, PANs, voter IDs, driving licences, and biometric fingerprint scanners—used to fool telecom agents and activate SIMs illegally.
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Modus Operandi: Duplicate SIMs and Insider Collusion
Investigators revealed the operation’s structure: gang members used point-of-sale IDs (POS IDs) to register forged SIMs in customers’ names, with accomplices among territory sales executives and telecom staff. Each customer would receive one SIM, while a duplicate would be retained and sold to cybercriminals. A batch of 200–300 pre-activated SIMs fetched ₹150–250 each. STF reports indicate over 10,000 SIMs were fraudulently activated in this manner over 2–3 years.
Wider Operation, Previous Arrests, and Legal Progress
This arrest completes a series of raids; on May 15, six gang members, including the alleged mastermind, were arrested in Chitrakoot. After Sandeep was identified, the STF cyber unit, led by Additional SP Vishal Vikram Singh, launched targeted investigations and traced him using technical and human intelligence. A case has been registered at Rajapur police station under the IPC and the IT Act, as the STF continues to pursue leads on telecom insiders, SIM purchasers, and cybercrime cells implicated in the supply chain.
