Gang stole phones, altered IMEI codes to sell them

NEW DELHI: The crime branch has busted a gang that had been altering cellphone IMEI numbers through special software and selling them in the grey market. Police have recovered 211 mobile phones with tampered IMEIs.
Ravindra Yadav, JCP (crime), said that the gang comprised a phone snatcher, a repairer and a seller at Gaffar market. The three accused have been identified as Md Saleem (28), Zahir Khan (32) and Amit Gulati (30).
A team led by Ashok Chand, addl CP (crime), received a tip-off that Saleem would come to MCD Market, Karol Bagh, along with his associates to meet Gulati. Saleem had gone to Karol Bagh to sell the stolen mobiles.
On the basis of the information, a trap was laid near the market. Two accused, Zahir and Saleem, arrived with a bag in the market. They were caught red handed when the duo were handing over the bag to Gulati.
Around 100 mobile phones were recovered from them. When the mobile phones were checked, it was revealed that the IMEI number of some mobile phones was different from what was mentioned on the sticker.
During interrogation, the men confessed to the crime. “We recovered 63 mobile phones, whose IMEI were tampered from the sale counter of Gulati’s shop. We also got 48 mobile phones from Zahir’s house in Mustafabad, Delhi. The team has also recovered a CPU which was used for tampering the IMEI,” a senior police officer said.