Andhra CID busts international cybercrime network; foreigner among 14 held, 1,496 SIM cards seized

Amaravati: Cybercrime Wing of the Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (CID), in coordination with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), has busted an international cybercrime network and arrested 14 persons, including a foreign national.

Acting on the directions of CID Director-General of Police Ravi Shankar Ayyanar, multiple CID teams conducted simultaneous raids across several States, including Goa, West Bengal, Telangana, Odisha, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh. As part of the operation, 14 accused — among them a Vietnamese national — were taken into custody for their alleged role in the cybercrime racket.

Addressing the media, CID (Cybercrime) Superintendent of Police Adhiraj Singh Rana said investigators seized 14 SIM boxes, 1,496 SIM cards, eight routers, seven cameras, 22 mobile phones, and other electronic equipment during the raids. He added that victims of the fraud suffered losses amounting to nearly ₹20 crore.

Modus operandi:

According to the CID, the accused used SIP softphones operated through laptops to route internet-based VoIP calls to foreign VoIP and SIP servers. These calls were then transmitted through FTTH broadband connections installed at the premises of local operators in India.

The SIM boxes connected to these broadband lines converted international calls into local GSM calls and routed them through multiple Indian SIM cards to mobile network towers. As a result, the calls appeared to originate from Indian phone numbers, enabling the gang to cheat victims through OTP scams, fake job offers, investment frauds, and other cyber offences.

How the case surfaced:

The racket came to light following a complaint lodged a few months ago on the Sanchar Saathi portal of the DoT, reporting suspicious calling patterns from the Gajuwaka–Pedagantyada areas of Visakhapatnam. After a preliminary inquiry, the DoT identified the activity as SIMBOX-based and referred the matter to the AP CID.

Further investigation revealed that SIMBOX devices were being procured through courier services and deployed for large-scale cyber fraud. Based on these findings, the CID carried out raids at multiple locations, including Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad, as well as Rourkela in Odisha, Nalanda in Bihar, Arambol in Goa, and Kolkata in West Bengal.

Among those arrested were two foreign nationals, including one from Vietnam, who allegedly trained local operators in the use of SIMBOX equipment. Several agents involved in procuring SIM cards in bulk were also taken into custody. Investigators found that the accused obtained multiple SIM cards by falsely claiming discrepancies during the e-KYC process and securing additional SIMs under the guise of correcting details.