A 24-year-old man suspected to be a member of an international crime syndicate that dealt in stolen phones was arrested with 48 phones worth ₹20 lakh near the Salimgarh Bypass, north Delhi, over the past week, police said on Sunday.
They said that stolen phones from Delhi-NCR are transported to West Bengal, where they are modified and repackaged to give them a new look, smuggled into Bangladesh and sold as refurbished cell phones.
The accused, identified as Mohammad Abdush, of West Bengal, smuggled over 800 phones over the past year and a half, police said.
Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Aditya Gautam said that the syndicate is based in West Bengal but it sends members to steal phones from passengers in public transport and crowded markets. “The syndicate ensures that stolen mobile phones are swiftly moved out of Delhi-NCR, making it difficult for law enforcement agencies to trace them. Once stolen, the mobile phones are never sold or used locally to avoid detection. Instead, they are immediately collected by smugglers, who purchase them at a nominal price of ₹2,000 to ₹3,000 per cellphone,” he said.
“These smugglers transport bulk consignments to West Bengal, where the phones undergo modifications, before being dispatched to Bangladesh. The gang further sells these phones for ₹8,000 to ₹10,000 each in the illegal cross-border markets,” the DCP said.
Police said they zeroed in on the suspect by working on outcomes of past investigations and analysing similar cases of smuggling. Through thorough surveillance, digital tracking and human intelligence, key players involved in the illegal trade of stolen phones were identified and police were tipped off about Abdush’s movement.
“The information was developed, and it was learnt that Abdush would come near Salimgarh Bypass in Kotwali area with a consignment of stolen phones on March 3 and would leave for his home town, Murshidabad in West Bengal. A trap was laid and Abdush was caught after a brief chase and scuffle. He was carrying a backpack that contained 48 phones, many of them high-end sets,” Gautam said.
Police said they are identifying and tracing Abdush’s associates in Delhi, West Bengal and Bangladesh.
Leave a Reply