Kendrapara, July 12: As part of a crackdown on illegal use of SIM cards, police have taken 14 persons into custody for circulating them among subscribers without proper documentation.

The racket has come to light following a series of raids launched across nine police and three marine police limits. Hundreds of pre-activated SIM cards were seized during the raids.

Kendrapara police superintendent Satish Kumar Gajbhiye said: "The arrested persons were circulating pre-activated SIM cards without adhering to the legitimate procedure. Against forged documents and proof of identity, the cards were being sold in the market, posing a threat to law and order."

A special squad, constituted for the purpose, detected the practice of the racket after conducting a series of raids in and around the township, said Gajbhiye.

The history-sheeters operating in and around the town are believed to have procured the pre-activated SIM cards.

Besides the arrested persons, at least 20 more have so far been detained in this connection, including SIM card retailers.

The mobile network operators usually hand out a number of SIM cards to a private dealer, who sells them after collecting the required documents from customers.

"The arrested dealers were selling the SIM cards without procuring proper documents. However, in the face of competition from rival traders, the dealers had been throwing norms to the wind," a police official said.

During the raids, SIM cards and documents issued on fake identity proofs were seized.

The accused persons have admitted to the crime. One of them said that to mint money, the racket had sold hundreds of SIM cards against fake identity proofs.

"The detained persons are being interrogated. We hope to make more arrests in this connection," Gajbhiye said.