Police bust fake SIM card racket,4 held

Police have arrested four persons,including an area manager of a mobile phone service provider,for forging documents and providing pre-activated SIM cards on them.

Police said Manoj Jagind (33),an employee of Videocon Mobile Services,had colluded with Vikas Kothari a retail shop owner in Khar and distributors Kailash Gurnani and Sunil Sharma in the crime. Kothari used to duplicate documents of genuine prepaid SIM customers and send copies to Gurnani and Sharma. The distributors scanned these copies and filled the SIM Card form with forged photographs,other details and documents while Jagind provided them SIM cards. The distributors thus acquired pre-activated SIM cards,which they sold to customers at higher prices.

The accused had made over 40 copies of genuine customers documents. The customers were not even aware that there are over 30 SIM cards being issued in their names, said Vishwas Nangre Patil,Additional Commissioner of Police (West).

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Police on Wednesday received information that Jagind was planning to go to Khar to deliver the pre-activated SIM cards. They laid a trap and arrested him.

Police suspect that such SIM cards could be used for terror activities. They claim that at least 60 per cent of SIM cards sold by retailers are illegal.

We have seized 3,826 pre-activated SIM cards of Videocon and Cheers from Jagind. The retailer used to get Rs 5 for each copy he made of the documents while distributors got Rs 31 for every scanned document, Patil said.

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