Illegal call routing gang busted, 7 held in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: The city police on Sunday caught a seven-member gang who were illegally routing telephone calls through the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) facility. The gang had set up its operational hub at a house in the Moghalpura area in the Old City with offices in Golconda and Tolichowki.

These centres cause financial loss to the government and can be used for terror-related activities. “The gang adopted the latest equipment, including the SIM boxes, to run the telephone exchange. Flashers and devices that can change the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) numbers of the handset were also used.

Each SIM box can hold up to 16 SIM cards. A person in a foreign country can call a local number in India. It will be routed to a number in India and then to the intended call recipient through the exchange. “This way, the caller avoids the international tariff, which causes loss of revenue to the government,” said S. Chaitanya Kumar, additional DCP, task force. 

The gang obtained up to 500 SIM cards in the name of MI Solutions. “Generally, MNC involved in operations in various foreign countries use the VoIP technology by paying a substantial amount to the department of telecommunications. In this case, everything was illegal,” said the official. 

Those persons who were caught are identified as Syed Mohammed Ilyas, 33, the prime accused from Moghalpura, Mosin Bin Mohammed, 44,  Mohammed Shahnawaz, 20, Dr Mohd Omer, 26, Mir Muzafar Ali, 32,  Mohd Zubairuddin , 27 and Isa Bin Sayeed, 20. 

The police seized Rs 4.80 lakh, six laptops, nine   mobile phones, WiFi routers and SIM cards from them.