Delhi Police busts racket smuggling stolen phones to Bangladesh; 8 arrested, 294 phones seized

New Delhi, Aug 28 (PTI) Delhi Police has arrested eight members of an interstate racket involved in smuggling stolen and snatched mobile phones to Bangladesh via West Bengal, officials said on Thursday.

The accused were part of a well-organised network that procured stolen phones from pickpockets, robbers and snatchers operating in DTC buses across the national capital, and smuggled them into Bangladesh with the help of handlers based in the border areas, police said.

According to police, 294 mobile phones worth around Rs 50 lakh were seized from the accused's possession, of which 45 have been matched with FIRs and 30 with lost reports.

"The gang members operated in close coordination with their contacts in Bangladesh, who arranged the collection of the stolen devices through their associates.

"The racket came to light after technical surveillance and field intelligence confirmed that stolen mobile devices were being smuggled out of India," DCP (South) Ankit Chauhan said.

The officer said the operation began on July 27, when, acting on inputs about a gang involved in thefts in DTC buses, police laid a trap that led to the arrest of four men -- Dinesh alias Haddal (52), Rizwan alias Commando (38), Ravi (30), and Ajay (41), all residents of Delhi.

Police seized 38 mobile phones from their possession.

During interrogation, the accused revealed that the stolen phones were to be supplied to Rahul alias Pichatar (30), a resident of Govindpuri, who was arrested on August 7 with five stolen phones, including an iPhone, the DCP said.

Rahul's arrest led police to Mojahir alias Sameer, a resident of Sangam Vihar, who allegedly collected the stolen devices and facilitated their transportation to Kolkata.

"Mojahir was in frequent contact with Mohammad Khalid alias Pappu (50), a resident of Nadia in West Bengal, who had relatives in Bangladesh and contacts in the border area," the DCP said.

Subsequently, a team was dispatched to Kolkata, which arrested Khalid on August 21.

A search of Khalid's residence led to the recovery of 30 stolen phones, some of which were linked to theft and snatching cases in south Delhi.

Khalid's phone had contact details of several Bangladeshi nationals, the DCP said.

During interrogation, he admitted that Bangladeshi handlers used to send their associates to collect phones from him.

Khalid was produced before a local court in Kolkata on August 22, which granted Delhi Police his three-day transit remand, the officer said.

The probe also revealed that Mojahir and his associate Shivam Kumar Jha (22) used to frequently travel to Kolkata, at least four times a month, to deliver the stolen phones.

On August 23, both were detained in Delhi, and 75 mobile phones were seized from them, the DCP said, adding that Khalid received nearly 1,000 stolen phones from Mojahir for further smuggling into Bangladesh.

The officer said the network shows how thieves are increasingly trying to smuggle stolen devices abroad as the CEIR (Central Equipment Identity Register) portal launched by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) makes them unusable in India by blocking the IMEI numbers.

"Once blocked, these phones cannot be used with any SIM card in India, reducing their resale value. That is why gangs attempt to dispose them of through illegal routes across borders," Chauhan said.

Police said an examination of Khalid's phone revealed three active Bangladeshi numbers, suspected to be of the handlers at the receiving end, and efforts are underway to identify them and establish their role in the racket.

According to police, 194 mobile phones have been directly recovered from the accused, in addition to 100 traced through the CEIR portal. Out of these, 45 have been matched with FIRs and 30 with lost reports.

Sharing the profile of the accused, police said Khalid, who earlier worked as a carpenter, had past criminal records in West Bengal, while Mojahir, a 10th pass, was linked to eight theft cases in Delhi and Kolkata.

Shivam was involved in one theft case, while Dinesh, Rizwan, Ravi, Ajay and Rahul were all habitual offenders with multiple theft cases registered against them in the national capital. PTI BM SMV ARI