Karnataka’s Cyber Command has dismantled an illegal SIM box network operating from two apartments in Bengaluru’s Whitefield area, recovering equipment with a combined capacity of 320 SIM connections and arresting four alleged e-SIM supply-chain operators in Maharashtra.
The operation followed a complaint from the Chief Circle Nodal Officer of Bharti Airtel Limited, Bengaluru, regarding the unauthorised use of Airtel SIM cards in a SIM box setup in Whitefield and Kadugodi. The Cyber Crime Police Station in Whitefield registered Crime No. 286/2026 on August 26, 2026, and began an investigation.
According to a press note issued by Karnataka DGP, Cyber Command, Pronab Mohanty, the investigation identified two facilities operating from separate apartments under the Whitefield division. One was located in Kadugodi and the other in Pattandur Agrahara. Police conducted a special operation with the Karnataka unit of the Department of Telecommunications and seized 10 SIM box, or GSM gateway, devices.
Six devices were recovered from the Kadugodi facility. Each had 32 SIM slots, with a total of 192 slots configured with e-SIM-provisioned connections from various telecom providers. Four devices were seized at Pattandur Agrahara, providing another 128 slots. Together, the facilities could accommodate 320 SIM connections.
Police said both facilities had been established and operated by the same criminal network. The devices are being examined to determine their precise operational role. Preliminary leads indicate that the setup may have been used to facilitate fraudulent communications linked to digital arrest cases, sextortion and financial frauds reported across India.
The scale of the alleged setup highlights how ordinary residential premises can be used to host telecommunications equipment capable of supporting large volumes of connections. The investigation is also examining how the connections were procured, provisioned and used, including the roles of telecom intermediaries and the wider supply chain.
In a related development, investigators traced the e-SIM supply chain to Tiroda in Maharashtra’s Gondia district after following leads concerning the alleged sale of SIM cards and their conversion into e-SIM profiles. Four accused persons, all residents of Tiroda, were identified and arrested in connection with the supply chain.
Police described the arrests as a breakthrough in tracing the procurement and provisioning of e-SIM resources suspected to have been used in the cybercrime operation. The financial exposure linked to the network could run into hundreds of crores of rupees, according to preliminary leads cited by the police. Further investigation is underway to establish the role of each accused and determine the links between the SIM and e-SIM supply chain and the suspected fraud activities.
