Ahmedabad: The city cybercrime branch has arrested another member of a racket that fraudulently issued SIM cards using customers’ documents and routed them to Dubai and Cambodia, where they were used for cricket betting, digital arrest scams, and other organized cybercrimes.

The latest arrest was made on November 27 after investigators found that SIM cards issued in a complainant’s name were active inside Cambodia-based scam call centers, officials said on Sunday.

According to investigators, the network relied on telecom agents who duped customers under the pretense of providing regular services, such as SIM transfers. These agents collected Aadhaar cards, voter IDs, and fingerprints, claiming later that the server had failed. In reality, new SIM cards were secretly issued in the customers’ names and passed on to middlemen for a commission.

Earlier, three suspects were arrested from Ahmedabad, Radhanpur, and Rajasthan. In the latest action, police detained Kuldeep Joshi, a resident of Kankrej in Banaskantha, from Tharad. Investigators said the racket operated through four layers: local telecom “umbrella agents,” SIM collectors, interstate handlers, and Dubai-based couriers who forwarded consignments to Cambodia.

Each SIM card reportedly fetched between ₹400 and ₹1,500, depending on the type of scam it was meant for. Authorities stated that the accused routed around 1,000 SIM cards outside India. DeshGujarat