Delhi Police Bust Major IMEI Tampering Operation: Five Arrested in Cybercrime Crackdown

New Delhi:

In a significant breakthrough against cybercrime, authorities have dismantled an illegal mobile manufacturing and IMEI tampering operation in Delhi's Karol Bagh area. Law enforcement officials arrested five individuals and seized 1,826 phones and laptops containing IMEI tampering software during Operation Cyberhawk.

IMEI, which stands for International Mobile Equipment Identity, is a distinctive 15-digit code assigned to mobile devices that enables identification and tracking of specific phones.

The suspects allegedly manipulated these unique identifiers to prevent detection of stolen devices or phones intended for use in cyber fraud activities.

During the raid, police confiscated numerous finished and semi-finished smartphones and keypad models, along with specialized software, IMEI scanners, thousands of mobile components, and printed IMEI labels.

For approximately two weeks, Karol Bagh police had been investigating suspicious mobile phone activities in the Beadonpura district. Intelligence indicated that an unauthorized mobile phone assembly and IMEI tampering business was functioning on the fourth floor of a building in the area.

Following verification of this information, officers were directed to apprehend the suspects in action and shut down the operation. On November 20, authorities raided Aditya Electronics & Accessories located on the fourth floor of a commercial building in Beadonpura.

During the operation, five individuals were discovered installing old mobile phone motherboards into new phone casings. IMEI-altering software was actively running on their computers. The completed phones with modified IMEIs were being packaged on-site.

The five suspects — Ashok Kumar, Ramnarayan, Dharmendra Kumar, Deepanshu, and Deepak — were immediately taken into custody.

According to their statements, the accused purchased old and damaged mobile motherboards and stolen phones at reduced prices from scrap dealers throughout Delhi. They imported new mobile casings from China through spare parts suppliers.

They then utilized the IMEIs from old phones to create new devices that would not be registered in mobile manufacturing databases, using specialized software such as WRITEIMEI 0.2.2 and WRITEIMEI 2.0.

The finished counterfeit phones were sold through various channels in Karol Bagh, Gaffar Market, and other prominent mobile phone marketplaces across Delhi-NCR. The operation was extensive, distributing hundreds of counterfeit phones monthly.

The primary customers for these altered devices were reportedly criminals attempting to evade tracking measures.

Police are continuing their investigation to identify the sources of Chinese spare parts and the end users of these tampered devices.