Police investigate 88 for suspected involvement in registering SIM cards for criminal activities
The police have arrested 77 people and are investigating 11 others for their suspected involvement in fraudulently registering SIM cards.
Those arrested and investigated include 34 individuals aged between 15 and 17, along with a 19-year-old male who is believed to be a recruiter.
Between April 10 and 17, officers from the Anti-Scam Command and the seven Police Land Divisions conducted an island-wide enforcement operation against errant subscribers registering postpaid SIM cards used for criminal activities.
A total of 63 men and 14 women, aged between 15 and 40, were arrested for their suspected involvement in providing fraudulently registered postpaid SIM cards for monetary gains.
Another eight men and three women, aged between 15 and 80, are assisting with investigations.
Preliminary investigations revealed that these errant subscribers were allegedly offered cash rewards between $100 and $500 for handing over between 10 to 40 SIM cards registered under their names to criminal syndicates.
These subscribers were allegedly instructed to sign up and purchase SIM cards in bulk across different retailers before handing them over to their recruiter or couriers.
One recruiter was arrested during the operation.
Criminal syndicates exploit local SIM cards and eSIMs as a channel of communication for scams, unlicensed moneylending and vice, among other illicit activities.
Out of the 88 persons investigated, 87 are being investigated for the offence of knowingly providing a fraudulently registered SIM card to another person to facilitate a crime for any gain.
The 19-year-old male recruiter is being investigated for the offence of supplying SIM cards registered using other persons' personal information for criminal activity.
If found guilty, they can be fined up to $10,000 and/or jailed for up to three years.
