Meerut, March 27 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday said it has busted a SIM Box-based cyber fraud racket and arrested two accused following searches at six locations in Uttar Pradesh.

The accused, identified as Mohd Vilal and Mohd Dilshad, were apprehended from Meerut district for allegedly providing telecom infrastructure to facilitate cyber-enabled financial frauds, officials said.

According to the agency, the case relates to the misuse of bulk SIM cards deployed through SIM Box technology, which enables routing of international or internet-based calls as local calls — a method often used to mask identities and carry out large-scale fraud.

The investigation revealed that a private company was incorporated in January 2025, in whose name as many as 108 SIM cards were procured, ostensibly for employee use. However, these numbers were later flagged by citizens on the National Cyber Reporting Portal (NCRP) and the Chakshu portal for their suspected involvement in fraudulent activities.

Officials said multiple complaints indicated that the numbers linked to these SIM cards were being used to impersonate law enforcement personnel and government officials. Victims were allegedly coerced into transferring money after receiving such calls, which typically serve as the first step in organised cyber fraud schemes.

Following extensive technical analysis and coordinated field operations, the CBI carried out searches at six locations in Meerut and Noida. The premises covered during the raids included those linked to the company’s directors, their associates involved in setting up SIM Box infrastructure, the zonal office of a telecom service provider, and an employee of a private firm responsible for verification processes related to bulk SIM issuance.

During the searches, investigators seized several electronic devices, including laptops, mobile phones and hard disks, along with incriminating documents and multiple SIM cards. Notably, a SIM card from Nepal was also recovered, indicating possible cross-border linkages in the operation.

Preliminary findings suggest that the arrested individuals were directors of the company, which was allegedly set up solely to procure bulk SIM cards and facilitate illegal SIM Box operations for cyber fraud networks.

The agency said further investigation is underway to identify other members of the network, trace financial trails, and ascertain the full scale of the fraud.

–IANS

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