Law enforcement agencies in St. Petersburg collaborated to successfully conduct an operation leading to the detainment of a 16-year-old male, suspected of unauthorized access to computer information. The joint efforts of the UBK Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and the Federal Security Service led to the discovery of the young man.
As per information from the press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region on March 14, the detainee was found to be providing technical support for fraudulent call centers. His role involved checking equipment capable of manipulating and changing phone numbers, for which he was compensated in cryptocurrency.
The operation uncovered that the teenager operated from a rented apartment where he had set up four GSM-ships, two thousand SIM cards, and a laptop delivered by couriers. To maintain anonymity, he frequently changed residences and swapped SIM cards on a daily basis.
Further investigations revealed the involvement of two more accomplices acting as system administrators. One of them received a weekly supply of around three thousand SIM cards from Moscow, which were then distributed among the group members.
Currently, multiple criminal cases have been initiated related to the fraudulent activities, all consolidated into one proceeding. The defendants are facing charges under Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.