Tracking down a stolen mobile phone led the North Division police to bust an inter-State mobile phone theft and disposal racket. As many as 400 phones worth Rs. 40 lakh were recovered on Tuesday.
The Vidyaranyapuram police got information that a stolen mobile phone was active in Palakkad, Kerala. A team tracked down the user, who claimed to have purchased the phone in Palakkad. This led the police to Subair (43), a second-hand mobile phone dealer, who not only confessed to the crime but also handed over 400 phones purchased from Arif Pasha (40), a resident of Goripalya on Mysuru Road. Police said that Arif heads a gang that steals mobile phones from people using public transport. Arif claimed to be operating the racket for the past one year.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Labhu Ram said the gang worked in groups. In case one of their associates was caught, they would beat him before whisking him away from the crowd to ‘hand him over to the police’.
