Maharashtra ATS busts illegal telephone exchange in Mumbai's Dongri, one arrested

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Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad's Nagpada unit has busted an illegal telephone exchange and arrested one accused allegedly involved in operating the exchange in Mumbai's Dongri area.

On July 25, acting on a tip-off, police apprehended Riyaz Mohammad alias PK (32) from Dongri, Mumbai. The ATS, along with two officials from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), conducted the raid at Mohammad's rented apartment.

During the raid, police seized four sim boxes valued at Rs 5 lakhs from the accused's residence. The sim boxes contained a total of 149 sim cards of a well-known company.

Investigations revealed that the accused, Riyaz Mohammad, was in contact with a Bangladeshi citizen named Alamal, and both were allegedly involved in running an illegal call center. They used Chinese sim boxes to route international calls, leading to financial losses for the Indian government.

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An FIR was registered under section 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code and the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act.

Further investigations are underway to uncover the extent of the alleged illegal activities and to apprehend any other individuals involved in the operation.