The U.S. Secret Service has taken down a large-scale telecommunications network in the New York tri-state area that investigators say posed a serious risk to public safety and the United Nations General Assembly.

According to officials, the operation involved "SIM farms" hidden in abandoned apartments across at least five locations. Agents seized 300 SIM servers and more than 100,000 SIM cards capable of sending up to 30 million text messages per minute. Investigators warned that the system was powerful enough to disable cell towers, disrupt emergency services, and potentially shut down communications in New York City.

“This network had the potential to disable cell phone towers and essentially shut down the cellular network in New York City,” said Special Agent in Charge Matt McCool in

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