Bhubaneswar: One more accused was arrested by the Odisha STF in the OTP Sharing Scam to Pakistani Intelligence Operatives.
STF sources here Friday said Mohammad Ekbal Hussain from Gendhua Pathar in Assam’s Nagaon district was arrested September 19. He was produced before a local court in Nagaon, Assam and was brought to Bhubaneswar after getting a five-day transit remand.
He will be produced before the Bhubaneswar court here Friday. Earlier, six accused people were arrested in this case.
STF sources said Ekbal Hussain was in touch with earlier-assigned accused Abhijit Desmukh. He was also in touch with Khurram Abdul Hamid, a Pakistani intelligence officer, and sold many WhatsApp account OTPs, Telegram account OTPs and Mule/ Ghost accounts directly to Hamid.
After the arrest of the principal accused, Pathani Samanta Lenka and his associates, accused Mohammed Ikbal Hussain switched off his phone and went underground.
It was found that he has used at least 37 IMEI nos (handsets) and more than 500 SIM cards. Ekbal Hussain also confessed his guilt and stated that he has been selling OTPs of WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, fake activated SIM, Mule, and Ghost accounts for the last two years and earned Rs 50, 000 to Rs 60,000 per month.
Hussain further disclosed that in Gendhua Pathar village, almost all adult males are involved in this type of cybercrime. Hussain and other cybercriminals in his village generally use SIM cards/ mobile handsets for around a month and then destroy them by throwing them into the river.
UNI