LUCKNOW, Jan. 9 -- Officials of several private telecom firms operating in Mathura and other districts of western Uttar Pradesh have come under the scanner following the arrest of an area sales manager of a private telecom company from Delhi by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday.

The sales manager was arrested for his alleged role in the illegal bulk issuance of SIM cards that were later used in large-scale phishing and cyber fraud operations, confirmed CBI officials privy to the development.

The arrest was made as part of the CBI's ongoing 'Operation Chakra-V', a nationwide crackdown aimed at dismantling the technical and human infrastructure enabling organised cybercrime. The sales manager in question, who oversaw o...