Robbers find mobile phones easier to grab

CHENNAI: A day after nearly 20 mobile phones were stolen from a shop in Ayanavaram, burglars targeted another mobile showroom at New Washermenpet on Wednesday night. They took away six cell phones and 15,000, besides some recharge cards.
The burglars broke into the shop owned by Rangarajan, 32 of Dharmarajan Koil Street soon after the owner had pulled down the shutters and left for home.Burglars seem to find it easy to break in as these shops have basic locks unlike those in jewellery shops. Cell phones are small, easy to take way, and they also fetch good money, said a police officer.
“When cell phones are stolen from showrooms, it is easy to track as the shop owners give us the list of IMEI numbers of stolen phones. Also the bigger mobile phone showrooms have security. However, the smaller ones remain at risk as they rely on police patrols. Many of them don’t have CCTV cameras, making them easy targets for the burglars,” he said.
Recently there have been cases where robbers were found to have come from other states and target mobile phones of commuters in Koyambedu. One such gang was arrested in Anna Nagar two months ago. On questioning, this gang confessed that they travelled to the city by train a month ago and stayed in the lodges in Triplicane, Aminjikarai and Periamet.
They said they used to split into two groups. They would take turns to rob and return to their home state with the booty. They used to target pedestrians who would be busy talking on their phones. An IPS trainee lost his phone to one such a robber on the Marina a few days ago.
Being small and convenient to take away, cell phones are the preferred pick for the robbers and burglars, police said