4 held for breaking into mobile shop, stealing phones worth ₹7.99 lakh

Four people were arrested on Thursday by Kurla police for breaking into a mobile phone shop and stealing 62 mobile phones and accessories worth ₹7.99 lakh. The four

Four people were arrested on Thursday by Kurla police for breaking into a mobile phone shop and stealing 62 mobile phones and accessories worth ₹7.99 lakh. The four accused, all Dharavi residents including one with previous criminal antecedent, had broken into the shop on Sunday night.

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The arrested accused are Shafiullah Atiullah Ansari, 24; Zulfikar Ali Haidar Shaikh, 35; Atif Asif Khan, 20; and Ayan Rafi Alam Shaikh alias Ishan alias Bitu, 28. According to Kurla police, Shafiullah has a previous case of mobile theft registered against him at Vasai police station. Police suspect the three others joined Shafiullah to make some quick money.

According to police, Zulfikar is a driver by profession, Atif a gold jewellery designers, while Ayan was a mobile repairer and knew how to change the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number.

Police officers said they broke open the locks of the shop in Kurla (West) using a gas cutter and stole the phones, and they also took the DVR which would have stored the footage of the CCTV camera to avoid detection.

“We scanned the CCTV camera footage of those available in the area and found that the accused had used two bikes, based on which we tracked the accused and arrested them,” said Dattatray Shinde, senior inspector, Kurla police station.

The police have recovered all 62 mobile phones from the accused.