The Mumbai crime branch’s central cyber region has arrested eight persons for allegedly illegally porting mobile numbers via unauthorised universal product codes (UPC) and supplying SIM cards to cyber criminals for stock investment scams. Over the past year, the suspects allegedly sold nearly 30,000 SIM cards to foreign nationals and others without completing any KYC documentation.

Between May 14 and June 28, the accused added the complainant to a WhatsApp group called ‘MSFL Stock Chart 33’, where they persuaded him to open an account on a brokerage firm’s virtual platform, claiming it was for stock trading investments. They then displayed fake virtual profits, coercing the complainant into depositing Rs51.36 lakh across several bank accounts. 

Once the complainant realised he had been defrauded, he reported the incident to the central cyber police. Joint Commissioner of Police (crime branch) Lakhmi Gautam ordered an investigation, led by Deputy CP Datta Nalawade and the central cyber region’s in-charge inspector. The investigation led to the arrest of eight suspects. Officials disclosed that certain telecom provider employees allegedly bypassed KYC requirements, using UPCs to port numbers and supply SIM cards to the accused, which were subsequently used for financial fraud. These SIM cards were linked to various WhatsApp groups, through which numerous victims across India were scammed for crores of rupees.

The accused have been identified as Mahesh Kadam, Rohit Yadav, Sagar Thakur, Mahesh Pawar, Raj Aarde, Gulabchand Jaiswar, Usman Sheikh, and Abu Yusuf.