Illegal satellite phone usage detected again at K’taka-Ker border

Bengaluru: Illegal satellite phone usage was detected again in forest and rural areas of the Karnataka-Kerala border and also along the coastal areas.

Members of some terrorist and Naxalite organisations are said to be using satellite phones taking advantage of the prevalent COVID-19 situation.

The State’s intelligence and Internal Security Department (ISD) has started investigating the issue.

The illegal usage of satellite phones was detected in the past six months by operations conducted by central intelligence agencies.

Calls have been made using the satellite phones from 8-10 locations across forests in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts.

The preliminary investigation revealed that most of the calls were to Arab countries.

It has also been found that those returning from Saudi Arabia are using satellite phones.

The satellite phones used was reported to be of the Thuraya brand which is banned in the country. The locations of these satellite phones can only be detected 24 hours after usage.