Delhi Police busts gang that sent activated SIM cards to Vietnam for gaming apps

Police say they have seized 500 SIM cards (representative)

New Delhi:

Four people have been arrested for allegedly sending activated SIM cards to Vietnam for use in gaming and social media apps to receive payments on cryptocurrency platforms banned in India, police said on Sunday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI Airport) Usha Rangnani said they used to get SIM cards issued in the names of people, many of whom were daily wage earners, by paying “a very little amount”.

The cards were then sold to Vietnamese at “high prices” and “further used in gaming and social media applications,” the official said.

The accused had received funds through a “Chinese cryptocurrency app” which was recently banned in India, police said, adding that police had seized 500 SIM cards.

The deputy commissioner of police (DCP) said an investigation was launched after a complaint was lodged by the manager (operations) of a courier company at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) cargo terminal.

The complainant said, “During the physical inspection of random shipments, it was discovered that a large number of SIM cards covered with carbon paper in diaries were hidden in one of the shipments. These SIM cards were saved by cutting paper to leave gaps and were ready to be shipped to Vietnam,” Mr Lannani said.

The DCP said a total of 500 SIM cards were found in the shipment, covering three different services. During the investigation, the police randomly selected 60 SIM cards out of 500 and obtained details of these cards from their respective service providers, the officer said.

“We found that almost all the SIM cards were issued in the names of people living in and around Agra (Uttar Pradesh) region. All the SIM cards were issued by POS (Point of Sale) centres,” the DCP said. .

Anil Kumar (20), a native of Rajasthan, and Mukul Kumar (22), Hemant (26), residents of Agra, Mr. Rannani said and Kanhaiya Gupta (29) have been arrested. During the investigation, the police traced two persons in whose names the SIM cards were issued in Loha Mandi area of ​​Agra. They revealed that Mukul Kumar gave them Rs 200 each to issue cards in their names, the DCP said. Langnani said Mukul Kumar was handing out SIM cards to people telling them he was doing it to help his friends at the POS center achieve their monthly targets. The DCP said that after issuing the cards, Mukul Kumar used to sell the cards to Hemant and Gupta at a price of Rs 300 each. The two pieces were further sold to Anil Kumar for Rs 500 each, the official said. The DCP said Anil Kumar had transported SIM cards to addresses in Vietnam through social media platforms.

Police said he was in the habit of collecting payments from buyers through a Chinese cryptocurrency app, through which each defendant’s share was given. The DCP said Anil Kumar had obtained a SIM card worth Rs 1,300 in his bank account through a cryptocurrency app in Vietnam. “We have started further investigation into the matter,” the official said.

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