Gang involved in trafficking stolen mobile phones to Nepal busted

New Delhi, April 4 In a major breakthrough, the Crime Branch of Delhi Police on Tuesday claimed to have successfully dismantled a syndicate involved in trafficking of stolen or snatched mobile phones in the national capital, an official said on Tuesday.

Seven men were arrested and 70 stolen mobile phones were recovered, the official said.

The accused, identified as Sandeep, Mohd Chaman, Radhey Shyam Mishra, Arman Ansari, Sarabjit Singh, Riyaz and Rahul were found to be involved in receiving stolen or snatched phones through snatchers and thieves.

The gang had sent about 700 mobile phones to Nepal in the last six months.

According to Special Commissioner of Police (Crime), Ravindra Singh Yadav, the task was challenging because the stolen phones were inactive for a long time and were disposed of outside India's boundaries.

The gang members were active in the Karol Bagh/Rohini area of the city and used to purchase stolen mobile phones in bulk from their associates. Sandeep would then send them to Nepal through his known carrier.

"His associates in Nepal would send the money through hawala after receiving these mobiles," said the Special CP.

On the basis of an integrated approach made by the police team, it was also revealed that Sandeep along with his associates would go to Anand Vihar Bus Terminal along with a box of 40-50 stolen mobile phones for sending it to Nepal for disposal.

"Sandeep along with two associates Chaman and Radhe Shyam were intercepted while they engaged in handing over the stolen mobile phones in a Hyundai Creta car. From the possession of accused Sandeep and Chaman, 30 stolen mobile phones were recovered which were kept in a carton box, while 16 stolen Apple mobile phones were recovered from accused Radhey Shyam on rear seat of car," said the official.

During interrogation, Sandeep disclosed that he used to work with his cousin Lalit and both of them would collect stolen mobile phones from various associates from the different places of Delhi-NCR.

"After arrest of Lalit, he started doing it on his own along with his partner Arman and hired a mobile shop on rent at Rohini from where they carried out this illegal activity. He also disclosed that he used to collect stolen mobile phones from the area of Trans Yamuna, Outer North Delhi and NCR while Chaman used to collect the same from Rahul and Riyaz Naqi," said the official.

Sandeep also revealed that he had given about 10-12 stolen Apple mobile phones to Sarabjeet Singh to crack the security lock and password.

"The gang had sent about 700 mobile phones to his three associates namely Aashiq, Kishore Mahajan and Manish in Nepal during the last six months. Sandeep used to earn a profit of Rs 500 to Rs 1000 for low-end mobile phones and Rs 5,000 to 6,000 for high-end mobile phones," said the official.

All correspondence and communication with regard to sale/purchase of these stolen mobile phone was done through WhatsApp calls & messages and once the deal was completed accused Sandeep would collect the money/payment from associates in Karol Bagh and the profit was distributed in equal ratio between Sandeep and Arman after deducting the expenses.