CID busts cyber fraud, illegal SIM racket; five arrested in Guwahati raids

The Cyber Police Station of the Crime Investigation Department, Assam arrested five individuals during coordinated raids across multiple locations in Kamrup district, uncovering an organised network allegedly involved in cyber fraud, illegal SIM card procurement and misuse of personal documents to create mule bank accounts.

Officials said the operation was carried out on March 8 following credible intelligence inputs. A suo motu case (No. 01/2026) was registered under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Sections 318(3), 319(2), 336(3), 337 and 61(2). Investigators found that the accused were illegally handling nearly 200 SIM cards in violation of telecom regulations, allegedly as part of a wider interstate cyber fraud syndicate.

During the raids, police recovered KYC documents belonging to more than 1,000 individuals, raising concerns about large-scale identity theft and misuse. Authorities also seized 54 bank passbooks in the names of different persons, 10 blank cheque books, five unused debit cards, about 1,000 unissued SIM cards and nearly 500 issued SIM card covers.

Preliminary investigation revealed that several of the seized SIM cards were already linked to cyber fraud cases registered in other states. Officials said the usage pattern suggests involvement in SIMBOX operations — a technique used to route fraudulent international calls through local telecom networks to evade detection and traceability.

Police also alleged that the accused operated a handloom training centre as a front for the illegal activities. According to investigators, they invited applications from women aspirants for training programmes and collected personal identification documents during the enrolment process. These documents were then allegedly used fraudulently to activate mule SIM cards and open mule bank accounts, which are commonly used to launder proceeds of cybercrime.

The arrested persons have been identified as Moinul Hoque from Kalita Kuchi under Hajo police station, Moon Kalita and Kangakan Kalita from Sauramuri village under Kayan police station, Hirak Jyoti Kalita from Balisatra under Kayan police station, and Mostakim Ahmed from Dhuhi village under Kayan police station.

Officials said the investigation is continuing to trace the larger network behind the operation, identify beneficiaries of the mule accounts, determine victims whose documents were misused and establish links with cyber fraud cases across different states.

Senior Superintendent of Police (Cyber Crime) Saurav Jyoti Saikia said the state police remains committed to combating cyber fraud in all its forms and urged citizens to remain vigilant while sharing personal documents.

Authorities have advised the public not to share personal identification documents such as Aadhaar, PAN, bank details or photographs with unknown organisations or unverified job and training schemes. They also urged people to report suspicious calls, messages or online activities through the national cyber crime helpline 1930 or the government portal National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.