New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested an Airtel territory sales manager and two associates from Assam for their alleged role in the illegal sale of SIM cards linked to cybercrime networks.
The accused, identified as Airtel TSM Debashish Doley and middlemen Mahim Uddin Barbhuiya and Ashim Purkayastha, were taken into custody after raids at five locations in Cachar district on Wednesday, officials said.
Airtel has not yet commented on the development.
Investigators revealed that the trio supplied unauthorised SIM cards to fraudsters involved in crimes such as digital arrest scams.
These cards, popularly known as “ghost SIMs,” were issued using genuine customer credentials without their knowledge.
According to the probe, the scam worked by conducting an initial e-KYC verification for a customer.
While the first SIM was handed to the buyer, a duplicate SIM was generated and secretly sold to cybercriminals.
These ghost SIMs were later used to defraud victims, operate mule bank accounts and launder money.
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The arrests follow a larger crackdown in May, where the CBI booked 39 point-of-sale operators accused of selling over 1,100 ghost SIMs to cybercrime syndicates operating from Southeast Asia.
During the latest raids, the CBI seized mobile phones, electronic gadgets, and KYC documents.
The agency stated that these illegal sales violated telecom norms and were carried out for profit.
“This action reflects the government’s determination to curb cybercrime and dismantle the infrastructure enabling such offenses,” a CBI spokesperson said.
