Delhi Police crime branch busts procession pickpocket gang, 4 arrested

The accused used distraction tactics in crowded gatherings. The gang had been active for over a decade, police said, smuggling stolen phones via UP to Nepal.

The Delhi Police crime branch on Friday said they had arrested four members of a gang involved in stealing mobile phones from crowded places, including religious processions, and smuggling them into Nepal, where the devices were sold as refurbished phones.

Acting on a tip-off, police boarded Haridwar Express at Mathura and caught four men with 45 high-end phones; the syndicate’s kingpin has multiple past arrests. (File photo)

Officials said a total of 45 mobile phones, stolen during the Lalbaugcha Raja procession and other gatherings in Mumbai, were recovered from the arrested men while they were travelling back to Delhi on a train from Mumbai. According to police, the value of the recovered phones were estimated to be around ₹20 lakh.

The arrested suspects were identified as Mohammad Shakil, 49, of Seemapuri in northeast Delhi, described as the kingpin of the syndicate, along with Mohammad Shafiq, 34, and Dilshal Ali, 36, from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, and Shamshul Hasan, 40, of Delhi’s Nand Nagri.

“Members of the syndicate operate by blending into crowded religious processions and other busy public spaces across India. They used distraction tactics and clever concealment methods to steal mobile phones in seconds and disappear before the victims noticed the thefts,” said deputy commissioner of police (crime) Vikram Singh.

Singh said the arrests were made in the early hours of Thursday after the eastern range-1 team received information about the gang travelling to Delhi with stolen phones. The suspects’ mobile numbers were tracked against incoming trains from Mumbai, and analysis showed they were on the Haridwar Express, scheduled to arrive at Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station at 2:30 am.

“To pre-empt any escape or deviation, an advance team was deployed at Mathura railway station. The team boarded the train, monitored possible suspects and, with railway staff assistance, verified passenger lists. Subsequently, four criminals were apprehended with 45 high-end mobile phones,” Singh said.

Police said Shakil had been running the gang for 14 years with his brother Kamran alias Sadiq, and others. He had earlier been jailed in Katra, Ajmer, Prayagraj, and Mandoli Jail, Delhi. The stolen phones were sold in Rupriya, Bahraich (UP), to one Rijwan (now in Nepal) through his brother Shoib.

“Interrogation revealed the men, along with Kamran, left for Mumbai on September 4. They stole phones at Juhu Chowpatty and the Lalbaugcha Raja procession between September 5 and 7. As Kamran was arrested by Mumbai Police on September 6, the others left for Delhi on September 9,” Singh added.