The Karnataka Cyber Command Unit has busted an illegal SIM box network operating from two apartments in Bengaluru’s Whitefield area, recovering equipment with capacity for 320 SIM connections and arresting four people in Maharashtra over the suspected e-SIM supply chain.
The network is suspected to have facilitated digital-arrest scams, sextortion and financial frauds across India, according to a press note issued by Karnataka DGP, Cyber Command, Pronab Mohanty, on Wednesday. Police said the investigation began after the Chief Circle Nodal Officer of Bharti Airtel in Bengaluru complained about the unauthorised use of Airtel SIM cards in a SIM box setup in Whitefield and Kadugodi.
The Cyber Crime Police Station, Whitefield, registered Crime No. 286/2026 on August 26, 2026, and began investigating the alleged misuse of telecom connections. The investigation identified two facilities operating from separate apartments in Kadugodi and Pattandur Agrahara, both under the Whitefield division.
During a special operation conducted with the Department of Telecommunications, Karnataka, officers recovered 10 SIM box, or GSM gateway, devices. Six devices were seized from the Kadugodi facility. Each had 32 SIM slots, with 192 slots configured with e-SIM-provisioned connections belonging to various telecom providers. Four devices recovered from Pattandur Agrahara added another 128 slots, taking the combined capacity of the two facilities to 320 SIM connections.
Police said both facilities had been set up and operated by the same criminal network. The devices formed part of an organised telecommunications arrangement allegedly used to facilitate fraudulent communications. The seized equipment is being examined to establish its precise operational role, including how the connections were provisioned and used.
Preliminary leads indicate that the network’s financial exposure could run into hundreds of crores of rupees, police said. The investigation has not yet established the precise role of each device or quantified the losses linked to the Bengaluru facilities.
In a related development, investigators traced the e-SIM supply chain to Tiroda in Maharashtra’s Gondia district after following leads about the alleged sale of SIM cards and their conversion into e-SIM profiles. Four people, all residents of Tiroda, were identified and arrested in connection with the supply chain.
Police said the arrests were a breakthrough in tracing the procurement and provisioning of e-SIM resources allegedly used in the suspected cybercrime operation. Further investigation is underway to establish the role of the four accused and determine the links between the SIM and e-SIM supply chain and digital-arrest, sextortion and financial cyber fraud activities.
