Thousands across country duped of Rs 100 crore: Syndicate with links to China, Pak & other nations busted

Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO) Vinit Kumar said the unit received multiple complaints from the victims where they received threatening calls accusing them of links to terror incidents such as the Pahalgam attack and the Red Fort blast case in Delhi. “The syndicate routed international calls through illegal SIMBOX systems, disguising them as domestic Indian calls. Calls were deliberately pushed through 2G networks to evade real-time tracking, while SIMBOX devices were manipulated to overwrite and rotate IMEI numbers. As a result, a single number appeared to originate from multiple cities in a day, severely misleading investigators,” Kumar said.

A case on such complaints was registered in September last year, and a dedicated team of around 25 personnel was formed.

With the assistance of agencies like the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), a probe was launched and an advanced telecom manipulation network was uncovered. After sustained technical analysis and field intelligence, police traced the first SIMBOX installation to Goyla Dairy in Southwest Delhi.

A month-long covert surveillance operation identified four active locations across Delhi. Raids led to the arrest of two local operators — Shashi Prasad (53) and Parvinder Singh (38) — who allegedly maintained and facilitated the illegal infrastructure across five Delhi locations.

A major breakthrough came with the exposure of foreign involvement. Forensic analysis revealed that the SIMBOX devices were supplied and configured by Taiwanese nationals, with coordination conducted through encrypted Telegram channels. Using a strategic counterintelligence trap, investigators lured a key foreign handler, Taiwanese national I-Tsung Chen (30), into India. He was arrested at Delhi’s international airport on December 21, 2025.

Chen was found to be the alleged principal technical backbone of the operation, responsible for smuggling SIMBOX devices into India and concealing their identities. He allegedly worked for a larger Taiwan-based crime syndicate led by gangster ShangMin Wu.

Further investigation helped reveal the network’s footprint. SIMBOX hubs were uncovered in Mohali, Punjab, leading to the arrest of Sarbdeep Singh and Jaspreet Kaur — both of them had previously worked in Cambodia-based scam centres. They disclosed that a Pakistani handler funded and directed the Indian installations. Forensic analysis also revealed the use of Pakistani-origin IMEI numbers to mask device identities, raising serious national security concerns.

The probe later uncovered a crypto-financing angle in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, resulting in the arrest of Dinesh K, who allegedly coordinated cryptocurrency laundering across Southeast Asia. Another SIMBOX setup was seized in Malad, Mumbai, leading to the arrest of Abdus Salam.

According to the police, forensic examinations connected more than 5,000 compromised IMEI numbers and approximately 20,000 SIM cards to the fraud module. Cybercrime complaints linked to the network have been reported from multiple states, with authorities estimating the total fraud amount at nearly Rs 100 crore.

Police recoveries include 22 SIM box devices, mobile phones, laptops, routers, CCTV cameras, passports, and foreign SIM cards. Officials said the operation had a wide geographic reach and sophisticated infrastructure.

Further investigation is ongoing to trace money-laundering channels, analyse cryptocurrency transactions, and identify remaining domestic and international operatives involved in the racket.