CBI Arrested The Manager for Illegal Sale of SIM Cards used in Cyber Crimes
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, 8 January 2026: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), as part of it’s ongoing Operation Chakra-V, has arrested Area Sales Manager of a Telecom Service Provider (TSP), in an ongoing case, aimed at dismantling the technical backbone of organised cybercrime, as per a press release issued by the CBI today.
In Dec 2025, CBI had uncovered and disrupted an organised phishing network, operating from NCR/Chandigarh, which was providing bulk SMS services to cyber criminals, including foreign actors targeting Indian citizens. The accused had procured around 21,000 SIM cards in violation of DoT rules, for facilitating transmission of bulk SMS, used by cybercriminals for sending phishing messages. Three persons, including a channel partner of the TSP were arrested in December 2025 and are currently under judicial custody.
The role of an individual TSP official came to light during the investigation. The official, serving as the Area Sales Manager, was actively involved in facilitating the fraudulent issuance of SIM cards in bulk. He arranged dummy individuals, falsely projecting them as employees of M/s Lord Mahavira Services India Pvt. Ltd., and submitted their documents to complete the KYC formalities. It was further revealed that members of a family residing in Bengaluru were among those, arranged by the official and shown as employees of the accused company. Copies of AADHAAR cards of these persons were recovered from the possession of the said official. The SIM cards obtained through these fraudulent means were subsequently used for operating the phishing ecosystem exposed during the investigation.
Phishing is the first key step in most cyber frauds to lure innocent public. It uses mass SMS, calls or messages to lure victims with false offers of loans, investments or threats. Once victims share details or click links, they get engaged in bigger scams leading to money loss.
CBI remains committed to tackling organised cybercrime by targeting the technical infrastructure that enables such offences and will continue to act in close coordination with concerned agencies to ensure that offenders are brought to justice as per law.
