In a major crackdown under Delhi Police’s “Operation CyberHawk,” authorities have raided a clandestine mobile-assembly unit in Karol Bagh, arresting five suspects and confiscating 1,826 illegally manufactured and tampered mobile phones.
The raid was carried out on November 20 at a facility operating under the guise of “Aditya Electronics & Accessories,” located on the fourth floor of a building in Beadonpura’s Lane 22. Investigators found the accused — identified as Ashok Kumar (owner), Ramnarayan, Dharmender Kumar, Deepanshu, and Deepak — actively assembling phones using old motherboards, new phone bodies (imported from China), and altering their identities via specialized IMEI-writing software on laptops.
Police recovered the full gamut of illicit materials: 1,826 handsets (smartphones and keypad phones), a laptop running IMEI-modifying software (WRITEIMEI 2.0), an IMEI-scanning device, thousands of phone bodies, pre-printed IMEI labels, and various assembly tools.
During interrogation, the accused admitted the racket had been running for nearly two years, sourcing scrap devices from dealers, refurbishing them, and then re-selling under fresh IMEIs to evade detection. A case has been registered under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Telecom Act, 2023.
Police officials say the seizure marks one of the largest busts against IMEI-tampering and illegal manufacturing in central Delhi in recent times. Investigations are ongoing to trace the supply chain of components, distribution networks, and the buyers of the tampered phones.
The crackdown underscores growing concerns over device cloning, untraceable handsets used in cyberfraud, and the urgent need for stricter enforcement to safeguard digital security.
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