International cybercrime racket with Cambodia links busted in Mancherial, four held in Jannaram
Police in Mancherial district busted an international cybercrime racket operating from a rented house in Jannaram Mandal, arresting four individuals with links to Cambodia. The accused used SIM box technology to make spoof international calls, extorting money from the public. The setup was reportedly funded by a Cambodia-based man known as Jack.
Mancherial: Police busted an international cybercrime racket with links to Cambodia that was being operated from a rented house in Jannaram mandal headquarters. Four persons were arrested, while hundreds of SIM cards, laptops, tech devices and a motorbike were seized from their possession.
Disclosing details of the operation, DCP A Bhaskar said Yandrapu Kamesh from Manyam district in Andhra Pradesh, Bavu Bapaiah and Bavu Madhukar from Gollapelli mandal in Jagtial district and Gotla Rajesh from Kishtapur in Jannaram were apprehended for running the racket locally.
The Telangana State Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) and Department of Telecommunications had alerted the Mancherial police about suspicious SIM box activity. Acting on the inputs, police discovered the illegal setup, which involved remote call activation using SIM box technology, a method often employed in international cyber scams to mask the origin of calls.
During interrogation, the accused confessed to threatening the public and extorting large sums by making international spoof calls from the Jannaram setup. Bapaiah admitted to establishing the facility with support from the other three, under instructions from Jack alias Sai Krishna, a native of Khammam currently based in Cambodia.
He further revealed that Jack had funded the procurement of equipment and technology used in the operation. Kamesh, who had incurred losses of Rs. 13 lakh in online betting, admitted to sourcing over 150 SIM cards without any documentation, which were then used to execute scam calls. Bapaiah, Madhukar and Rajesh said they were hired and paid salaries by Jack for their roles in the operation.
DCP Bhaskar stated that investigations are ongoing to trace additional links and further unravel the international cybercrime network.
