Anyone involved in illegal activities using the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) facility will not be spared and the drive against them will continue, State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak said today.

Such activities will not be tolerated under any circumstances, he added.

The state minister made the remarks while inspecting a large quantity of seized VoIP equipment, including around 17,000 illegal SIM cards, used in illegal VoIP operations, during a drive in Tongi, Gazipur yesterday.

Operations are being conducted and will continue under the initiative of BTRC in collaboration with the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre, or NTMC, which is legally mandated to monitor, collect and record communications over telco lines as part of intelligence gathering, and Rab.

Palak emphasised that the government is firm on shutting down illegal VoIP activities. Operators will be held responsible if SIM cards are sold through dealers without proper verification.

In a joint operation with NTMC, Rab-1 conducted raids in the Tongi area yesterday and seized a significant amount of illegal VoIP equipment and apprehended those involved.

The seized equipment included 11,500 SIMs of different mobile operators, three computers, two laptops, one mini PC, seven modems, 15 routers, and five network hubs.

BTRC Chairman Engineer Md Mohiuddin Ahmed, Director General of NTMC Major General Ziaul Ahsan and Rab-1 Captain Lt Col Muhammad Mostaq Ahmad, among others, were also present.