Kolkata: The detective department arrested Tanmoy Sarkar (34) of Satyen Roy Road and Dinesh Jana (41) of Jadu Bhattacharya Lane during a raid in Parnasree for allegedly operating an illegal SIM card business. Nearly 100 SIM cards, Rs 42,200 in cash and other equipment, including a biometric authentication device fitted with glue-like material, were seized.
The accused were part of a gang that sold pre-activated SIM cards to cyber fraudsters for a premium.
The total number of arrests in this pre-activated SIM fraud has now risen to 12. . Police are investigating potential links to larger criminal networks. The accused exploited POS terminals of major telecom providers, cops said. The frauds would also collect thumb impressions from customers under the pretence of failed verification attempts to activate the SIM cards.