Phones snatched in Delhi smuggled to Bangladesh via West Bengal; 6 arrested

New Delhi, Jul 14 (PTI) Six people, comprising a Delhi-based snatcher, a courier employee and receivers in West Bengal, who smuggled stolen phones to Bangladesh, were arrested after police busted a mobile phone theft ring, an official said on Monday.

The case came to light following a series of early morning snatching incidents reported on June 25 from Preet Vihar, Mandawli and Patparganj Industrial Area, he said.

"The breakthrough came on July 6 with the arrest of Salman (37), who was identified through extensive CCTV analysis as the scooty-borne snatcher," Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Abhishek Dhania said and added that the vehicle used in the crimes has been recovered.

During interrogation, Salman revealed he used to hand over the stolen phones to Shafi Ahmad alias Teepu (33), who then passed them on to a courier employee, Bhupendra (34), working in Noida.

Bhupendra, who also has been arrested, admitted to sending stolen mobile phones to West Bengal's Malda district in exchange for commission, the officer added.

In Malda, the receivers were identified as Md Rehman Sekh (35) and Emarul Kayues (36). Police teams were dispatched to West Bengal, where Sekh was arrested on July 11, and seven stolen phones were recovered from him.

"He admitted to handing over the stolen phones to Kayues, who confessed to smuggling the devices into Bangladesh," the DCP said and added that another 20 stolen phones were recovered on the information Kayues provided.

The accused were produced before a local court in Malda, and their transit remand was secured for further investigation in Delhi.

Police also found that Salman's wife, Gulbahar (37), had allegedly received proceeds from the illegal mobile phone trade into her bank account, attracting further legal action.

Nine cases of mobile snatching have so far been solved through this operation. The syndicate's financial channels are being scrutinised, and action under Section 112 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (organised crime) has been invoked, police added. PTI SSJ SSJ AMJ AMJ