HYDERABAD: The TGCSB, in coordination with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), busted an illegal SIM box racket at Chandrayangutta on Thursday and arrested three persons.
The accused were identified as Hidayaullah (28) and Ahad Khan (25), both from Hafeez Baba Nagar, and Shaik Shoaib (24) from Bandlaguda, Chandrayangutta.
Acting on an alert, TGCSB teams analysed call records, conducted field enquiries and gathered intelligence before raiding the location.
The joint operation led to the seizure of a SIM box and nearly 200 SIM cards procured illegally by point-of-sale agents.
Probes revealed that the setup was used to route international internet-based calls as local calls, masking caller identities, a method often exploited by cyber fraudsters.
Police said the main accused, Hidayaullah, who suffered losses in car trading and investments, was introduced to a woman named Venissa, based in Hong Kong.
She offered him money to operate the SIM box for internet traffic linked to social media applications, and guided him through the installation via video calls.
Hidayaullah enlisted Ahad and Shaik, who supplied SIM cards fraudulently obtained using Aadhaar details of migrant workers. Over 500 SIM cards were allegedly procured. Efforts are on to identify Venissa.