Eight suspects have been arrested for alleged SIM boxing, a form of electronic fraud.
The suspects were apprehended over the weekend during an operation mounted by Police in conjunction with Uganda Communication Commission (UCC) and telecom operators.
“In telecommunications, SIM boxing refers to the act of a person or group of people setting up a device that can take several SIM cards (a SIM box) and using the same to complete international calls received from the internet as a voiceover. The calls are in turn served to the in-country mobile network subscribers as local traffic. As such, the SIM boxer bypasses international call rates and often undercuts the tariffs charged by local mobile operators,” UCC explains in a statement issued on Monday.
The suspects were arrested from Masanafu, Kasubi, and at Nakawa Market. Several SIM-boxes were recovered in the operation. Among the suspects are the SIM-box operators and that reportedly supplied them the stolen SIM cards.
“At Masanafu in Rubaga Division, Kampala, our enforcement team recovered One (1) SIM box with 545 SIM cards. Three (3) suspects are in police custody, at Clement Hill road, Central Division, one SIM box was recovered and two suspects are in police custody,” the statement indicates.
Some of the suspects are still at large after police found their premises deserted. The suspects will be charged with electronic fraud, contrary to the Computer Misuse Act 2011.
“The Computer Misuse Act 2011 provides for offenses related to misuse of computers. It also provides for electronic fraud as an offense which arises whenever one uses a computer to commit fraud,” UCC explains.
Recently the Deputy Inspector General of Police (D/IGP) Maj. Gen. Sabiiti Muzeyi held a meeting UCC officials and representatives of Telecom companies in the country to discuss avenues to get rid of illegally registered SIM-cards, which the police boss said were often used to commit crime.
