The Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC) in October seized about 42,000 SIM cards, used for illegally routing international calls through voice over internet protocol (VoIP), during separate raids in the capital and port city.
Of the SIMs, 16,812 were of Robi, 15,949 of Teletalk, 6,176 of Banglalink, and 3,223 of Grameenphone, said Md Jahurul Haque, acting chairman of the telecom watchdog at a press conference at his office on Sunday.
The seizure would save the loss of revenue over Tk 8.67 billion (Tk 867 crore) annually, he said adding that a total of 28 people have been arrested along with the SIMs and equipment valued worth TK 12.3 million (1.23 crore).
A joint team of BTRC and RAB had conducted the drives at Dhanmondi, Tejgaon, Kadamtoli, Siddhirganj, Pallabi, and Mirpur area of Dhaka from October 14 to October 18, reports UNB.
In the port city, the raids were conducted at Bayazid Bostami, Panchlaish, Baklia, Chawkbazar, Chandgaon, Sadarghat, and Halishahar areas from October 21 to October 31.
A total 28 cases were filed in connection with the seizure.
