Security threat prompts India to ban import of Chinese mobile phones without IMEI code

After Pakistan-based terrorists attacked Mumbai's hotels, restaurants and railway stations in November last year, killing at least 200 people, sleuths investigating the incident, said some of the terrorists were using Chinese mobile phones in which the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, or a 15-digit code that appears on the operator's network whenever a call is made, is absent. The intelligence agencies warned that in the past too, terrorists have been found using Chinese phones, in which the code is absent, to carry out attacks in the country.

The absence of this IMEI number not only makes it virtually impossible to trace either the caller or the phone but also makes it impossible to recover call details for these handsets, they said.

These Chinese mobile phones, which are cheap imitations of branded ones but carry all or most of the features of the pricier handsets, retail in Indian gray markets, without bill or warranty, at prices between $60 and $120 and have become a hit among rural and semi-urban consumers who want a stylish phone and connectivity at cheaper cost.

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Earlier this year, the government ordered mobile phone operators to identify the users of these handsets but the phone companies dragged their feet and asked for more time to identify these phones, saying the exercise was time-consuming.