With the arrest of nine members of four cell phone theft gangs on Thursday, Hyderabad police recovered 92 stolen smartphones and two autorickshaws.
The accused, who were previously involved in several cases, were apprehended by the East and South zone teams of the Commissioner's Task Force.
Addressing a press conference to announce the arrests, Commissioner of Police Anjani Kumar said that 28 stolen phones were recovered from Mohammed Abdul Haji’s gang, while 26 were recovered from Mohammed Mahmood Ali’s gang, and 24 and 14 stolen devices were recovered from the possession of Mohammed Mansoor and Mohammed Mohsin’s gang, respectively.
“With this arrest, 19 cases in Hyderabad and Cyberabad Commissionerates were detected and seizure is worth ₹12 lakh,” he said.
Further explaining the modus operandi of the gangs, the officer said that they only target sole passengers in their auto rickshaws and snatch the devices by threatening them.
“Many of them became friends in prisons and formed gangs after their release,” Mr. Anjani Kumar added.
