The Monitoring and Compliance Department of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), with the collaboration of the security agencies, Wednesday at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, arrested suspects who engage in the sale of pre-registered Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards to unsuspecting subscribers.

Head, Media & Public Relations at NCC, Mr. Reuben Muoka, who confirmed this in a press statement also made available to Daily Champion, said the suspects were arrested from two locations after they sold such cards to undercover agents in the areas surrounding the offices of one of the operators in Maitama district, and the GSM Village in Area 1, both in Abuja.

"You will recall that in the course of the on-going SIM card registration exercise, the Commission had alerted the members of the public to the activities of some unscrupulous elements who have engaged in the illegal sale of pre-registered SIM cards," he said.

Muoka who did not reveal the number of arrests made, also said that the Commission had warned the public through a special publicity campaign to advice those engaged in this act about its negative consequences.

According to him, under the regulation guiding the registration of SIM cards in the country, all new SIM cards purchased from February 14, 2011, could only receive calls and text messages, but cannot originate calls or receive text messages until they are registered with the appropriate operator which issued the new SIM cards.

He explained that in this regulation, subscribers are obliged to personally register such SIM cards before they are activated as no proxy registration is allowed for new SIM cards.

"This law forbids the sell or purchase of pre-registered SIM cards and prescribes imprisonment or fine or both for offenders of these provisions, under sanctions prescribed by the Nigerian Communications Act 2003," he said.

Noting that under this prescription, service providers who allow their third party agents or dealers to engage in this act would be liable, just like those who sell, or purchase such SIM Cards.

He pointed out that this act negates the main objectives of SIM card registration in the country, "it's capable of introducing a dimension where people who have not registered their lines will still have access to phones at the detriment security other people."

Muoka maintained that all subscribers are expected to register their phone lines and are not expected to buy phone lines registered with biometric identification data of people they do not know as this is capable of creating a multiple layer of criminal activities.

Those arrested, he said, would be handed over to the police for immediate prosecution but NCC need to inform the members of the public that the Commission, with the support of the security agencies, would continue to carry out arrests of all those involved in this act across the to ensure that these criminals elements do not distract from the process and objectives of SIM Card registration in the country.