Karachi police have uncovered a scheme involving the sale of illegal SIM cards, originally issued under citizens’ names, to Afghan nationals.
The discovery was made by the Rizvia police, who recovered a significant number of SIM cards and arrested three suspects in connection with the operation. SHO Rizvia, Abid Shah, stated that mobile phone SIMs obtained under citizens’ names are being used by robbery gangs.
The arrested suspect, Hamza, told the police that after conducting citizens’ biometrics at various locations, he would not provide them with the active SIM. Instead, he would deceive them by saying the biometric verification wasn’t working properly or by giving them inactive SIMs.
Hamza admitted that he had sold over 400 SIM cards to Kamran Afghani, an Afghan national in possession of an Afghan identity card. Kamran reportedly purchased each SIM card for Rs1,200. Another arrested suspect informed the police that the SIM cards were bought from Afghan borders and used by criminal groups. These SIMs were often destroyed, along with mobile phones, after robberies to cover the criminals’ tracks.
The three suspects in custody, identified as Hamza, Sikandar, and Wazir, are currently under investigation. Police are now trying to trace the Afghan nationals who purchased the SIMs, and are also attempting to retrieve data on the numbers issued and the citizens’ names they were registered under. SHO Shah said this illegal operation came to light following the arrest of members of the “White Corolla Afghan Gang” by Taimuria police, who were involved in house robberies.
