Gurgaon: A cyber fraud gang — with links to the Philippines — has been busted in the city with the arrest of a man from Uttar Pradesh.While Rahul Kumar (30), a resident of Kasganj, was nabbed from his native place on March 18, five SIM boxes and over 500 SIM cards were recovered from two rented accommodations in Gurgaon’s DLF 3.Investigators found that the devices were part of a larger network used to route international calls through local SIM cards, masking their origin and facilitating cyber fraud. Kumar was produced in court on March 19 and taken into five-day police remand. After completion of police remand, the accused was produced before a Gurgaon court on March 23 and sent to judicial custody.The action followed two complaints received on March 17 by the Cyber Crime West police station from landlords in U Block, who flagged suspicious activity by their tenants involving illegal telecommunication equipment.ACP Priyanshu Dewan said, “A police team raided two rooms in U Block, Phase 3, the same day and seized five illegally operated SIM boxes — fitted with 32-port antennas each, eight routers, 18 batteries, three UPS systems and 504 SIM cards belonging to Airtel and Vodafone Idea. The setup was being used to divert calls through internet-based routing, enabling cyber fraud.”“The interrogation revealed that he worked as a driver in Noida and came in contact with a Philippines-based handler through an associate. The equipment — including SIM boxes and routers — was supplied to him in Noida, after which he installed and activated the devices via video calls with the handler,” the ACP added.Police said Kumar delivered the equipment to a location in U Block — DLF Phase 3, Gurgaon — and was paid Rs 15,000 for the job. The system diverted the calls through which cyber fraudsters operated.The accused disclosed that the equipment was routed from the Philippines to Nepal, then to Bihar, and was subsequently distributed across locations in India. A mobile phone used in the operation was also seized from his possession. Police said efforts are underway to trace other members of the network and the overseas handler.
