The city police have arrested five members of a snatchers’ gang who used to sell mobile phones in Nepal after tampering their unique identity numbers.
A total of 225 mobile phones, including 35 i-phones, were recovered from their possession. The police also recovered a bike, a scooter and two sharp-edged weapons from them.
The accused have been identified as Ramesh Kumar alias Babbi, 40, Jatinder Kumar alias Sonu, 36, - residents of Indrapuri at Tajpur road, Manpreet Singh alias Monu, 27, of Manjit Nagar, Rahul Saini, 27, of Amritsar and Gurmeet Singh alias Gora, 40, of Vishawkarma Nagar of Tajpur road.
Gurmeet owns a telecommunication shop. He used to buy mobile phones brought by other aides after snatchings.
Deputy commissioner of police (DCP, Rural) Jaskiranjit Singh Teja said that the police arrested the accused following a tip-off. The accused used to roam around in the city at night and would target commuters. They would not hesitate to assault the commuters in a bid of snatching. They would return keypad phones to the owners or throw them away.
The DCP added that during questioning, the accused told police that they used to sell these mobile phones to Gurmeet, who used to temper the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) numbers to avoid being traced. He would further sent the mobile phones to his aides in Delhi and from there, the mobile phones were further sent to Nepal.
{{/usCountry}}The DCP added that during questioning, the accused told police that they used to sell these mobile phones to Gurmeet, who used to temper the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) numbers to avoid being traced. He would further sent the mobile phones to his aides in Delhi and from there, the mobile phones were further sent to Nepal.
{{/usCountry}}The DCP added that the police have initiated investigation to trace Gurmeet’s aides in Delhi. The accused are already facing trial in criminal cases.