Teen among 18 nabbed for handing over their SIM cards to crime syndicates for up to $20 each
Fifteen men and three women, aged between 18 and 59, were arrested for their suspected involvement in fraudulently registering SIM cards.
The arrests followed islandwide enforcement by the Anti-Scam Command and the seven Police Land Divisions between Oct 15 and 23 against errant subscribers who registered postpaid SIM cards allegedly used for criminal activities.
Preliminary investigations revealed that these errant subscribers were offered cash rewards between $10 and $20 per registered SIM card.
They would be instructed to sign up and purchase SIM cards in bulk across different retailers.
The suspects handed over to the syndicates between 38 and 66 SIM cards registered under their names.
Three men and two women, aged 28 to 38 will be charged in court between Oct 27 and 31 October 2025 with the offence of knowingly providing a fraudulently registered SIM card to another person to facilitate a crime/
A 39-year-old woman will be charged with the offence of knowingly providing personal information for the purpose of registering SIM card to facilitate a crime for any gain.
Both offences carry a fine up to $10,000, imprisonment for a term up to three years or both.
Individuals involved in such offences - whether they are under investigation and assessed to be at risk, or have been warned, issued with composition sums, prosecuted, or convicted - may be prohibited from subscribing to new mobile lines to prevent further facilitation of scams.
Investigations against the remaining 12 people are still ongoing.
The police said criminal syndicates exploit local SIM cards and eSIMs as a channel of communication for scams, unlicensed moneylending and vice, among other illicit activities.
