Delhi: Cellphone racket busted, three held

The three men, including a resident of Mumbai, were arrested from Delhi between December 7 and 8, the police said.

The Delhi Police on Friday said they have recovered 155 cellphones from three members of an interstate gang that purchased stolen phones from snatchers and thieves in Delhi-NCR, unlocked and changed their International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers, and sold them to clients in southern Indian states.

Delhi Police arrested three men, including a resident of Mumbai. (Representative image)

The three men, including a resident of Mumbai, were arrested from Delhi between December 7 and 8, the police said.

“Two laptops and connectors that the suspects used to unlock and change the IMEI numbers of the stolen phones were recovered from the arrested men. A total of 22 cases of snatching and 27 theft cases have been solved with the recovery of the stolen phones and the arrest of the trio by our district’s special staff team,” said deputy commissioner of police (east) Priyanka Kashyap.

The arrested men were identified as Sidharth Singh,21, from Mumbai, and two residents of Bijnor (UP) Luckman,29, and Salman,25.

DCP Kashyap said in the wake of the several snatching, robbery, the special staff team was asked to nab the criminals. The team put the stolen phones on electronic surveillance and found that many of them were active in southern states, and Maharashtra. It was learnt that a gang active in Mumbai and Delhi was disposing off stolen phones in far flung areas of these states. The gang is led by Sidhesh and his close aide, Sidharth Singh, who was living in Delhi’s Laxmi Nagar.

“Our team caught Singh on December 7 from Shakarpur while he was leaving for Mumbai with 58 stolen phones. He disclosed that the phones were procured from Salman and Lukman, who lived in Chand Bagh area in northeast Delhi. The team conducted raids and caught the duo with 97 stole phones,” she added.

During the interrogation, the police said, Singh disclosed that he worked for Sidhesh who paid him ₹30,000 per month.

“Salman and Lukman purchased stolen mobile phones at prices between ₹3,000 and ₹10,000, and sold them for ₹6,000 to ₹15,000 depending upon the model,” the DCP said.