Mumbai:
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Smart operators:Branded mobiles have designated prefix and number pattern, which can be linked to the manufacturers. Terrorists are aware of this and hence use cheap phones to avoid detection | After facing difficulty tracking SIM cards used in cheap mobile phones like Techno, Sintex and S2, the government is planning to ban their import. Such phones are used by terrorists for communication. Now, after Saturday's Delhi blasts, senior officials in the Home Ministry have been communicating with the Customs department to prevent cheap phones from entering the country. Same IMEI number Officials have learnt during investigations that hundreds of such cheap phones have the same International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number. This makes tracking them difficult. Intelligence operatives suspect that terrorists are aware of this and use cheap phones to avoid detection. Crime Branch officials who had faced problems with tapping cheap phones used by the underworld with identical IMEI numbers were forced to shift from electronic surveillance to manual methods. Branded mobile phones have designated prefix and number pattern, which can be linked to the manufacturers. The phone can be tracked even if the SIM card is changed. This problem is more pronounced with service providers using the Global System for Mobile (GSM) communication networks. A senior Customs officer said they have yet to receive an official notification. Customs sources disclosed that thousands of cheap mobile phones are imported each week through cargo terminals in Mumbai, Chennai, New Delhi and Kolkata. They are usually available in the grey market at half the rate of a branded GSM phone. A tri-band phone with dual SIM is available for as low as Rs 5,000.
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