A 25-year-old man from Odisha, Kanatala Vasudeva Reddy, was arrested by Mangaluru CEN police on Sunday for allegedly supplying over 500 SIM cards to cybercriminals. The arrest comes after a series of investigations into a widespread cyber fraud operation.
Inspector MP Sathish stated that the accused was involved in providing SIM cards from various Indian telecom providers to a group of fraudsters who used them for illegal activities. The investigation began after a cyber fraud case surfaced on June 19, where the fraudster, Nadavulu Veeravenkata Satyanarayana Raju, tricked victims into transferring large sums of money through fake links shared on WhatsApp.
Raju’s fraudulent activities led to a loss of Rs10.84 lakh, and after his arrest on June 29, he admitted to his involvement in the SIM card scam. Raju’s operation spanned across multiple districts, with SIM cards issued in names of unsuspecting individuals from Visakhapatnam and Godavari districts. These cards were then supplied to a Dubai-based company named Vinsect, which operated a call center used to trick people into investing in fake stock market schemes.
After Raju’s confession, police issued a lookout notice for Kanatala Vasudeva Reddy, who was arrested at Delhi airport while attempting to board a flight to Dubai. Immigration officials detained him, and the investigation is ongoing. Authorities are working to identify more links in the fraud network, including those connected to Dubai.
Alongside Reddy’s arrest, police have also seized over 300 SIM cards from Raju and continue to trace the operation’s further connections. In connection with the scam, another accomplice, Muthu Shiva, was arrested on July 4, while police also froze the bank account used to funnel fraudulent transfers.
As investigations progress, authorities remain focused on dismantling the cybercrime network and bringing all involved parties to justice.