ATS busts ‘illegal’ telephone exchange in Thane district; one arrested

The anti-terror agency seized nine SIM boxes, 246 SIM cards, eight routers and 191 antennas, which were used to operate the SIM boxes, and an inverter. (File picture used for representational purpose only)

“The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has busted an illegal telephone exchange in Thane district that could route international calls and make them appear as local calls and arrested a 40-year-old man,” an official said on August 2.

“The illegal telephone exchange, which was being operated at Bhiwandi, might have been used to facilitate terror-related activities,” an official said.

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“The exchange was operational for the past one-and-a-half years and Department of Telecommunications (DoT) officials suspect it caused a loss of more than ₹3 crore to the government,” he said.

Based on specific intelligence, the ATS raided the unauthorised telephone exchange at New Gauripada and Roshan Baugh in Bhiwandi on July 31. “The anti-terror agency seized nine SIM boxes, 246 SIM cards, eight routers and 191 antennas, which were used to operate the SIM boxes, and an inverter,” he said.

SIM boxes take incoming Voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) international calls and route them as local GSM calls through SIM cards. This way, the calls appear as if they originated locally. “ATS also arrested one Jafar Babu Usman Patel (40), who was operating the illegal telephone exchange with his aides for money,” he said.

“A case has been registered under Bharatiya Nayaya Sanhita, the Indian Telegraph Act, the Telecommunications Act, and the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act,” he said.