NEW DELHI: The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has uncovered an unlawful telephone exchange in Thane district that had the capability to route international calls and make them seem like local calls.
The ATS apprehended a 40-year-old man in connection with the case, according to an official’s statement on Friday. The illicit telephone exchange, which was being run in Bhiwandi, may have been utilized to support terrorist activities, the official added.
The exchange had been functioning for the past one-and-a-half years, and Department of Telecommunications (DoT) officials estimate that it caused a financial loss of over Rs 3 crore to the government, the official stated.
Acting on specific intelligence, the ATS conducted a raid on the unauthorized telephone exchange at New Gauripada and Roshan Baugh in Bhiwandi on Wednesday.
“The anti-terror agency seized 9 SIM boxes, 246 SIM cards, 8 routers and 191 antennas, which were used to operate the SIM boxes, and an inverter,” he said.
SIM boxes receive incoming VoIP (Voice-over-Internet protocol) international calls and route them as local GSM calls through SIM cards, making the calls appear as if they originated locally.
The ATS also arrested Jafar Babu Usman Patel (40), who was operating the illegal telephone exchange with his associates for financial gain, the official said.
A case has been registered under Bharatiya Nayaya Sanhita, Indian Telegraph Act, Telecommunications Act, and the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, and an investigation is ongoing, he added.