105 stolen mobiles worth ₹13.67 lakh recovered, APMC police nabs three

“Navinkumar Shravan Misra had complained to us that his mobile phone was stolen from the APMC vegetable market. During the investigation, we did a technical analysis and sourced information from our informers, which led to the involvement of the accused,” said Vivek Pansare, deputy commissioner of police (zone 1)

NAVI MUMBAI: In order to investigate the rising cases of mobile phone thefts in the APMC market, the police recently busted a gang of three for stealing 105 mobile phones worth ₹13.67 lakh. The trio allegedly specialises in stealing mobile phones from truck drivers and cleaners arriving in the market at night.

The police discovered that the accused was involved in several thefts across other areas of the city. (HT Photo)

The three accused work as loaders in the APMC market and have been identified as Amol Kisan Patil, Aniket Tanaji Patil, and Vinayak Suresh More.

A special squad led by senior police inspector Tanvir Shaikh and police inspector Sudhakar Dhane managed to locate the accused and laid a trap for them, following which they were detained.

“Navinkumar Shravan Misra had complained to us that his mobile phone was stolen from the APMC vegetable market. During the investigation, we did a technical analysis and sourced information from our informers, which led to the involvement of the accused,” said Vivek Pansare, deputy commissioner of police (zone 1).

“Their modus operandi was to steal the mobile phones of the truck drivers and cleaners who came from outside to the market while they are sleeping,” said Pansare.

The police discovered that the accused was involved in several thefts across other areas of the city.

“We have so far recovered 105 mobile phones of various companies valued at ₹13.67 lakh. We are taking measures to return the phones to their owners following the legal process,” said Pansare.

The police are further investigating their involvement in more cases, and if they have any more accomplices, and also looking to see if they had any buyers for the stolen phones.