Illegal telephone exchanges busted in Thane, one arrested

As per the preliminary investigation by the Department of Telecommunications (DOT), these exchanges caused a loss of about Rs 58 crore to the government, said the official

The Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra on Friday claimed to have busted two illegal telephone exchanges operating in neighbouring Thane, and arrested a man. Police were looking for two more persons in the case, an ATS official said, adding that the accused's possible links with terrorist organisations too were being probed. As per the preliminary investigation by the Department of Telecommunications (DOT), these exchanges caused a loss of about Rs 58 crore to the government, said the official.

After getting a tip-off, ATS sleuths and officials of the prosecution branch of the DOT carried out a raid in Azadnagar area of Thane yesterday, he said. They found that a 28-year-old man -- an Arabic teacher hailing from Azamgarh of Uttar Pradesh -- and his younger brother had set up the illegal exchange, he said. The ATS official did not reveal the arrested man's name. The 'exchange' routed international Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol (VOIP) calls to local mobile numbers through an "illegal international gateway". This
caused a revenue loss to the DOT, he said.

Police recovered 139 SIM cards, a laptop, five SIM box-machines for call transforming and three routers from his residence, the officer said. Following his interrogation, ATS team raided another house in nearby Mumbra, where five illegal international gateways, SIM boxes, 95 SIM cards, three routers and a laptop were seized, the officer said. The ATS registered a case with its Kala Chowki unit in Mumbai under the Indian Telegraph Act, Indian Wireless and Telegraph Act and IPC Sections 420 (cheating), the ATS official said, adding that further probe was on.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!