Lucknow: The Lucknow Police Crime Branch has uncovered an illegal telecom network allegedly facilitating digital arrest and extortion scams across multiple states, seizing six SIM boxes and other sophisticated communication equipment during raids at four locations.
The operation, conducted under ‘Operation Digital Kavach’, targeted suspected telecom infrastructure operating from Sushant Golf City, Para, BBD and Chinhat areas of the Uttar Pradesh capital on November 1.
According to police officials, the seized equipment included six SIM boxes with a combined capacity of 192 SIM slots, three VPN gateways, 21 smart switches and three smart hubs. Investigators also recovered four UPS units, 18 batteries, Wi-Fi routers, security cameras, a locked tablet and other electronic devices.
Preliminary findings indicate that the illegal setup was designed to manipulate telecom networks by converting international Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls into local cellular calls. The arrangement allegedly helped cybercriminals conceal their identities and evade detection while contacting potential victims.
Police suspect the infrastructure was being used by organised cybercrime networks to carry out digital arrest scams and extortion operations in different parts of the country.
A case has been registered at the Cyber Police Station, and the confiscated equipment has been sent for forensic analysis. Investigators are working to identify those operating the network and trace its financial beneficiaries.
Lucknow has witnessed other cybercrime cases recently. On August 30, police arrested Yashraj Bajpai at Lucknow airport for allegedly cheating students and parents of Rs 46 lakh through a fake consultancy promising admission to BITS Pilani. He reportedly issued forged admission letters and fee receipts. Police recovered Rs 40,225, a laptop, three mobile phones and five ATM cards from him. Further investigations are underway.
