3 held for uploading duplicate mobile identity numbers

INDORE - Three people have been arrested here on charges of uploading duplicate International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers in Chinese cell phones, police said Sunday.

“The cops stumbled upon the illegal activity after a man complained that he was receiving abusive calls on his mobile,” Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime) Arvind Tiwari told IANS.

“On receiving the complaint, our cops made an attempt to search for the culprit but failed as the address was found to be fake. Later, when they searched through IMEI number, it was found that 25 numbers were running on that same number.

“A search with private telecom companies showed that the same IMEI number was running in nearly 400 mobiles. All of these mobiles were Chinese mobiles. The mobiles got the IMEI numbers from Yash Collections, a shop in Dollar Market of Indore,” Tiwari said.

The Crime Branch officials then nabbed shop owner Mohammad Shahid and his two employees - 26-year-old Ameel Hussain and 18-year-old Mohammad Avesh Khan. “Shahid used to upload the duplicate IMEI number with the help of a software called Spiderman and a machine that comes with it,” he added.

Senior police officers said Telecom Enforcement Resource Monitoring Cell, which is the nodal agency for all telecom-related crime, the central intelligence agencies and the Delhi and Mumbai Crime Branches have been alerted about the incident.