Assam police arrest cyber criminal, recover 458 SIM cards

Morigaon (Assam) [India], July 1 : Continuing their operation against cyber criminals and fake SIM card racket, Assam Police have arrested a man from Morigaon district and recovered 458 SIM cards from his possession for allegedly being involved in cyber-related crimes, officials said on Saturday.

The arrested accused has been identified as Abul Kasem.

Based on secret information, police on Friday conducted a search operation in the Kacharibori area and arrested the accused.

During the search, officials recovered 458 SIM cards from his house.

"Last week, we caught three mobile SIM card retailers and seized few documents and 238 SIM cards from one of them. During the investigation, we found that the SIM cards were acquired by using a photograph of one person named, Inamul Hoque. After verification, we have launched an operation at Kacharibori and arrested a man, identified as Abul Kasem," Samiran Baishya, Additional Superintendent of Police said.

"During the search of his premises, we recovered 458 SIM cards of different telecom operators. We also seized PAN cards, driving licences etc. from there. Abul Kasem's brother is also suspected to be involved in this illegal activity and was not present during the raid. Most of the SIM cards were acquired using fake documents," the ASP added.

He further said that they suspect that the accused were involved in cyber fraud, and obtained loans from various apps using fake documents. "We are further looking into the matter," he added.