Security agencies in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut have unearthed a major threat to the country’s internal security after busting an illegal mini telephone exchange being operated from a residential area. Officials revealed that the exchange was being run with the help of high-tech equipment, enabling international calls to be routed as local Indian calls – a method often used for espionage and terror-related activities.
How the operation was discovered
According to the police, the operation came to light after suspicious call patterns were detected on telecom networks. Acting swiftly, a joint team of the local police and security agencies raided the premises and seized sophisticated telecom equipment, including SIM boxes, routers, and computers configured to manipulate international calls. Investigators say this setup allowed callers sitting abroad to communicate with individuals in India while bypassing legal gateways and monitoring systems.
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What was seized during the raid
Police recovered the core components of the illegal operation including 32 SIM VOIP gateway devices, four Wi-Fi routers, 22 SIM cards, three laptops, five Android phones, two keypad phones, assorted chargers, adaptors, and network cables.
Officials are not ruling out the possibility of the exchange being used by anti-national elements. By disguising international calls as local ones, such illegal networks not only cause heavy revenue losses to telecom companies and the government but also pose a severe security risk. Agencies fear that such channels can be misused by terror outfits, smugglers, or organized cybercriminals to communicate within India without detection.
Modus operandi and payment channel
According to city SP Ayush Vikram Singh, the gang charged ₹1,000 to ₹1,500 per minute. Their daily earnings ranged from ₹35,000 to ₹40,000. Payments were routed via cryptocurrency, later converted to cash. The group sourced SIM cards through social media contacts and distributed equipment to users across Lakhipura.
Legal action and implications
Charges have been filed under fraud, criminal conspiracy, the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885 and the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1933, along with violations of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The accused have been produced before court and sent to jail.