.jpg "EOU Hands Over SIM-Box Cyber Fraud Case to CBI as Global Links Emerge")
Harshit Kumar, a 21-year-old resident of Gauspur in Supaul, was arrested in the first SIM-box case detected in the state on July 21, 2025. Investigations revealed that he had travelled to China, Vietnam, Thailand, Nepal and Bangladesh, where he built a network of cybercriminals and received training from Chinese hackers. His connections also extended to Cambodia, Germany and Hong Kong through online platforms and Telegram groups.
The EOU found that Harshit brought SIM-box devices from China and Vietnam to run an illegal parallel telephone exchange. During raids, officials recovered eight SIM boxes containing 231 active SIM cards, 294 new Airtel SIMs and 800 used SIMs. A “Made in China” SIM box was also seized.
Data analysis showed the scale of the operation: between June 30 and July 2, 2025, 149 SIMs were used to make 51,000 fraudulent calls. Earlier, from June 21 to 23, over 10,000 calls were made using 50 SIMs issued from Vaishali. Harshit had purchased 231 SIM numbers from eight outlets in the district.
The investigation further uncovered multiple illegal SIM-box exchanges operating in Supaul, Bhojpur, Baisi (Charaia) and Varanasi. Fraudsters controlled these exchanges remotely from Rosera in Samastipur, converting international VoIP calls into local calls to cheat victims.
The EOU also traced substantial proceeds of crime, including Harshit’s investments in ten countries and two crypto-exchange accounts holding assets worth over ₹3 crore.
Given the cross-border links and the sophisticated nature of the operation, the EOU has moved the CBI to take charge of the case.
— Nayyar Hasnain Khan, ADG, Economic Offences Unit, Patna
Tags:
Cybercrime
.jpg&description=EOU Hands Over SIM-Box Cyber Fraud Case to CBI as Global Links Emerge){kind=link}