Audio By Carbonatix
A SIM Box syndicate operating at Community 11 in Tema in the Greater Accra Region have been busted in a combined operation by officials of the National Communications Authority (NCA), Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), KelniGVG and the Ghana Police Service.
A total of 11 SIM Box equipment with the capability of using 352 SIM cards simultaneously were retrieved from the premises along with other illicit equipment used for the criminal activity.
It is estimated that an amount of $1,938,816 in both revenue and taxes have been lost per month assuming each device operated at an average of 18 hours per day.
NCA, GRA, KelniGVG and the Ghana Police Service are continuing with their investigations and will provide further details in due course.
The February 19, 2020 raid is the third since December 2019. One other SIM Box operator arrested in January 2020 has been granted police enquiry bail whiles the operators of another SIM Box syndicate whose premises were raided and shut down in December 2019 are on the run.
The Fraud Management component of the Common Platform detected numbers used to illegally terminate international inbound calls as local calls.
Further investigations in collaboration with the mobile network operators (MNOs) led to the detection of the location of the SIM Box devices.
The Electronic Communications (Amendment) Act, 2009, Act 786 established the minimum rate for international incoming voice calls at US$0.19 through the licensed international gateways.
The use of SIM Boxes to bypass the legal routes for terminating calls in Ghana leads to loss of revenue and taxes to both the state and MNOs.
It is therefore a criminal offence to operate a SIM Box for the purposes of terminating international calls in Ghana. Offenders are liable to penalties that range from fines to terms of imprisonment.
The NCA and GRA working with KelniGVG and the Ghana Police Service are committed to detecting and apprehending SIM Box fraudsters in the country.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
International Day for PwDs: The unbroken spirit of a 16-year-old disabled visual artist
13 minutes -
Bryan Acheampong salutes farmers, outlines vision for resilient agricultural sector
14 minutes -
Wa West Agric Director calls for stronger gov’t support after difficult farming year
59 minutes -
‘Agriculture isn’t only for village folks’ — President Mahama pushes professionals to take up farming
1 hour -
82-year-old man emerges overall National Best farmer for 2025
1 hour -
Calls grow for stronger oversight as free trade and lax regulation fuel fake medicines
2 hours -
World Cup 2026: Tuchel keeps group stage opponents under wraps, shuns Ghana
2 hours -
Volta Region received a significant share of Big Push road projects – Mahama
2 hours -
Togbe Afede XIV lauds government’s $10bn ‘big push’ programme for boosting farm produce transport
3 hours -
FDA urges consumers to prioritise safety when purchasing products during festive season
3 hours -
President Mahama calls for single-digit interest rates on agricultural loans
3 hours -
President Mahama urges Ghanaians in formal jobs to take up farming
3 hours -
Farming interventions paying off, lifting incomes and food security, says Agric minister
4 hours -
Gov’t pledges science-backed interventions in agriculture, says Agric minister
4 hours -
Ghana unveils $3.4bn plan to accelerate national clean energy transition
4 hours
