Haitian National Police break up a major criminal phone piracy group.
On Thursday Digicel provided to the National Council of Communications (CONATEL) and the PNH’s Anti-Telecommunication Fraud (ATF) unit, information on phone numbers suspected of circumventing normal communications carriers, avoiding communications charges; a form of piracy known as bypassing.
The PNH/ATF launched an investigation and located two operations in Fragneau Ville and Delmas 30.
Monday, officials from CONATEL accompanied four judges and police officers, carried out a raid on the two locations. They seized equipment typical of a bypassing operation Five arrests were made. Several arrest warrants are in process.
9 Simulation Boxes were seized along with 11 dish antennas, plus routers, power cells and regulators.
CONATEL estimates loss to carriers and the State to be over $750,000 [US] per month. Charles Gentile Vice President of Calldirek, a major Miami-based phone card operation, was arrested. Police are seeking others on an international basis.
When Aristide was here it was much less complicated. He just had the phone companies steal the money and put it in his Turks and Caicos account.