Hazaribagh Haul: Huge Cache of Illegal VoIP Equipment Seized

In a joint operation on Friday (April 25), the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB-2) recovered a large cache of illegal Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) equipment and seized 1,547 SIM cards belonging to various telecom operators in the capital’s Hazaribagh area. The primary suspect, Md. Raju (38), was arrested during the raid.

ASP Khan Asif Topu, Assistant Director of RAB-2, stated, “The syndicate had been operating an illegal telecommunications business for a long time by installing and using VoIP devices without acquiring proper licenses from the BTRC, thereby depriving the government of significant revenue.”

According to sources, RAB-2 and BTRC were tipped off about the unauthorized use of telecommunications equipment—such as SIM boxes, routers, ONUs, laptops, and SIM cards—being used to run a full-fledged VoIP setup without regulatory approval. The syndicate was allegedly involved in large-scale revenue evasion worth crores of taka through their illegal operations.

As part of the surveillance and crackdown, RAB-2 tracked the movements of the main suspect, Md. Raju. On the night of Thursday, April 24, RAB conducted a raid on a rented apartment in the Baddanagar area under Hazaribagh Police Station. Raju attempted to flee the scene but was apprehended by RAB officers.

A search of the premises led to the recovery of a significant amount of VoIP equipment, including 1,047 SIM cards from various telecom operators—Grameenphone (235), Robi (502), Airtel (370), and Teletalk (440)—along with a laptop and other associated VoIP devices.

The arrested suspect and the recovered equipment have been handed over to the concerned authorities for further legal proceedings.