Delhi Police hunt for man who smuggled abroad at least 500 stolen cellphones

The Delhi Police is on the lookout for a resident of Old Delhi, who is believed to be one of the biggest smugglers of stolen phones to countries outside India

The Delhi Police is on the lookout for a resident of Old Delhi, who is believed to be one of the biggest smugglers of stolen phones to countries outside India. Senior police officers identified the man by his first name, Kashim, and said he was a resident of Sadar Bazar. They learnt about the man after arresting three members of a “Thak Thak” gang that robs people after distracting them.

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KPS Malhotra, deputy commissioner of police (cyber cell), said the stolen phones were sent via courier mail to Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Gulf countries. Police said this module has sent abroad at least 500 stolen phones and the owner of the courier agency as well as Kashim are currently on the run.

Explaining the details of the case, Malhotra said on June 18, one of his officers received information that three Thak Thak gang members were coming to Loni in Ghaziabad, to sell stolen phones. The officer said the three are members of a Meerut-based gang.

Thak Thak gangs are street thieves who distract drivers by knocking on car windows or puncturing tyres. They escape with valuables kept inside the car when the driver steps out to inspect. The name “thak thak” denotes the sound of someone knocking on a car window.

Police identified the three men as Nasir(36), Aseem (22) and Anish (33). While Nasir and Aseem are from Meerut, Anish is a resident of Delhi’s Dayalpur.

“During investigation, it came to fore that the accused persons used to sell these stolen phones to Kashim who further sent these mobile phones to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia via Gujarat, Mumbai, Bihar as courier packages. The three men disclosed that they have sold about 500 phones to Kashim. He and the owner of the courier agency are yet to be arrested,” the DCP said.

Police said Kashim’s interrogation will help them identify the other cellphone thieves in Delhi. Snatching is one of the most common street crimes in Delhi and cellphones are the most commonly snatched item, said police adding that more than 100 cellphones are snatched every day across the national capital.

Police have in the past found that there is a huge market for stolen cellphones. They said such gangs have in recent years developed devices that help them tamper with the IMEI of a phone-- the unique 16 digit number given to each handset that helps police identify and locate a stolen device.