PTA raids cellular franchises in multiple cities over illegal SIM issuance

LAHORE: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has carried out a series of coordinated raids across several cities, targeting franchises of cellular companies involved in illegal SIM card issuance.

The PTA Zonal Offices in Lahore, Faisalabad, and Peshawar led these operations, focusing on locations in Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Kot Momin, Kohat, and Hangu.

These franchises were found to be unlawfully distributing SIM cards, which are often linked to criminal activities such as fraud, identity theft, and other illegal operations.

During the raids, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) seized a substantial amount of evidence, including four laptops, one PC, 12 BVS devices, various active SIM cards, mobile phones, hard disks, original CNICs, photocopies, and digital copies of Afghan passports and Proof of Registration (POR) cards.

Additionally, fifteen individuals employed by the franchises were arrested at the scene. The FIA has filed First Information Reports (FIRs) and is continuing its investigation into these cases.

According to APP, the PTA had previously alerted the FIA to the illegal SIM issuance activities by these sales channels.

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