Four arrested in SIM box racket with links to Cambodia

The Hindu

4 days ago

Four individuals of a gang operating an illegal SIM box setup from a rented house in Jannaram mandal in Mancherial were arrested by the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB), in collaboration with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Ramagundam police. The operation led to the seizure of equipment used to facilitate cross-border scams routed through domestic mobile networks.
The investigation was triggered after the DoT, through its Chakshu portal, flagged suspicious activity linked to impersonation and fraudulent calls originating from the region. Technical inputs provided by the department identified a SIM box device connected to multiple International Mobile Equipment Identitys (IMEI), which allowed internet-based international calls to be disguised as local calls. With just one or two individuals operating them, fraudsters can manage and make a high volume of calls simultaneously, often used in scams involving impersonation, threats, or financial fraud, while evading detection.
The arrested individuals were identified as Yandrapu Kamesh, a 24-year-old unemployed polytechnic diploma holder from Parvathipuram, Andhra Pradesh; Bavu Bapaiah, a 43-year-old labourer from Laxmipur in Jagtial district; Bavu Madhukar, Bapaiah's 32-year-old younger brother; and Gotla Rajeshwer, a 40-year-old farmer from Kishtapur village. The group had been working under the remote direction of Polavalsula Sai Krishna, also known as Jack or Raju, who is currently absconding and was allegedly operating from Cambodia.
Investigations revealed that Bapaiah had travelled to Cambodia in mid-2024 and reconnected with Sai Krishna, whom he had initially met in Chandigarh while attempting to secure a visa. After returning to India in April 2025, Bapaiah was contacted by Krishna via WhatsApp and asked to arrange a rented house in Jannaram for setting up the SIM box operation. With assistance from his brother-in-law Rajeshwer, the location was secured, and soon after, telecom devices were shipped to Jagitial. Since Bapaiah was not at home, his brother Madhukar received the parcel and placed the equipment in the rented premises.
Subsequently, Krishna instructed the brothers to secure a high-speed Airtel broadband connection, which was arranged with the help of a local dealer. Kamesh, who had been approached via Telegram by Krishna and offered a monthly salary of ₹70,000, was brought to Jannaram to oversee the operation. He was responsible for installing the hardware, configuring the SIM panels, and inserting SIMs in batches to evade detection. Krishna also provided Kamesh with ₹3 lakh to purchase over 200 proofless SIM cards from a man named Simhadri in Parvathipuram, with financial transactions facilitated through another associate, Bonu Jayavardhan. The unverified SIMs were delivered in multiple consignments and used in the SIM box to route fraudulent calls.
The group managed to establish a decentralised yet technically coordinated setup capable of handling high call volumes. During the raid, officials seized five SIM box devices, over 230 SIM cards, a laptop, four mobile phones, a D-Link router, a modem, and an inverter, all configured for seamless telecom routing.
Efforts are now underway to trace Sai Krishna, Bonu Jayavardhan, who helped procure SIM cards; and Simhadri, who supplied the proofless SIMs. Investigators are also probing the role of telecom service providers and internet companies that may have issued SIM cards without proper verification.
Financial transactions linked to the operation are being scrutinised to trace the flow of money and identify any connections to larger call centre-based fraud networks.