CHATRAPUR:Two persons including a Foreman of Gopalpur port has been arrested by Aryapalli Maritime Police in Ganjam district on the charge of selling Indian mobile SIM cards to foreign nationals arriving by ship at Gopalpur port.Yesterday,the accused,identified as G.Shamba(49) of Katuru village and A. Kamaya,a mobile phone shop owner from the same village,were taken into custody during a raid conducted based on specific information.Police seized 70 SIM cards of various companies and 22 dollars recovered from the duo.Chatrapur SDPO,Chandan ghadei said recently we got a tip off about selling of sim card to the foreigners in the ships arrive at the port.Accordingly we kept a vigil.Yesterday a ship arrived at the port and a police team reached the port.During verification Shamba was found in a suspecious condition near the ship.When asked he identified as a foreman at the port,but failed to answer his preasence at the spot.During search 34 pre-activated SIMs and 22 dollars recovered from him.When questioned,he admitted that he was at the spot to sell the sim cards purchased from Kamaya of his village.Soon,police raided the shop of Kamaya and seized another 36 SIM cards.Initial investigations revealed that Shamba purchased SIM cards from Kamaya at a low cost of Rs 40/- and sold them to foreign nationals at inflated prices of Rs 2,000/-. The foreigners reportedly used these SIMs for WhatsApp calls and data services and destroy them before leaving the port.Ghadei said investigation is on to ascertain,whether any others involved in the trade and since when the duo were indulged in the illegal trade.
