Zimbabwean businessman in telecoms scandal

A HARARE businessman has been arrested on allegations of manipulating a telecommunications system which made international calls appear as if they are local calls.

Luka Ignatius Fabris, 42, who is being represented by Admire Rubaya of Rubaya and Chatambudza Legal Practitioners, denied the allegations when he appeared before Harare magistrate Tendai Mahwe.

Luka is being charged with contravening section 34 (1) as read with section 34 (2) (f) (h) and 34 (3) of the Postal and Telecommunications Act Chapter 12:05 (provide a telecommunication service or operate a telecommunication system without a licence).

Luka's trial will be on January 28, next year and he was remanded out of custody on US$100 bail William Crofate, an ICT engineer at the Postal and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe is representing the State in the case.

Allegations are that Luka acquired an eight channel Combo Hypermedia SIM box which received international terminating traffic in the form of voice over internet protocol (VOIP).

Suggestions are that the machine which Luka had, had a software which manipulates international VOIP traffic to appear as if it is originating from SIM card profiles configured on the SIM box or on a remote gateway.

It is added that to the network operator, the calls would appear as if they are local calls, thereby duping the operator.

On November 23, detectives from the CID Homicide Harare heard from Lloyd Chirindo a Loss Control Supervisor at Telecel Zimbabwe that they had detected some irregularities of international traffic by-pass.

The cops made their investigations and arrested Luka on December 23 and he led cops and Crofate at his Chisipite residence and several machines one of which had 20 Telecel SIM cards installed were recovered.