A team of officials from the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) and the Nigerian Police yesterday combed the city of Abuja, arresting phone vendors over the sale of pre-registered new SIM cards. THISDAY gathered that a team of plain clothes security officials at about 11.30a.m. yesterday, stormed the popular GSM Market in Zone One area of the city, as well as the MTN sales outlet office in Maitama, where five persons were arrested and taken to the Maitama Police Station. Addressing newsmen on the arrests, NCC’s Head of Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Reuben Mouka, said: “You will recall that the commission has informed the public about the activities of unscrupulous phone vendors who engage in the sale of pre-registered new SIM cards which is against our laws.” He stated: “We will be making arrests across the country; nobody should sell pre-registered new SIM cards to another person. We don’t want the purpose of SIM card registration to be defeated and if the service providers are involved in this deal, the service provider will be indicted.” Mouka said the activities of the phone vendors constituted a great risk and security threat to the buyer, the seller and the nation at large. He explained that the vendors “gathered a number of SIM cards and registered them with their own biometrics, thereby abusing the rules governing the law setting up SIM card registration.” According to one of the vendors who spoke to journalists, they bought the SIM cards without knowing that there were registered, as they were assured that they were only activated. THISDAY checks revealed that each of the pre-registered SIM cards is sold for N1,000, patronised mostly by persons with the intention to commit crime and hide their identities.