A gang of three men was arrested and 211 stolen mobile phones with tampered IMEI numbers were recovered from their possession, the Crime Branch said.
Mohammad Saleem (28), Zahir Khan (32) and Amit Gulati (30) were arrested in Karol Bagh, said Ravindra Yadav, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime).
“In the wake of rising incidents of mobile thefts and snatchings Metro and railway stations, a team was formed under the supervision of Additional CP Ashok Chand. Our team laid a trap near the MCD market in Karol Bagh,” said Mr. Yadav. “Two boys arrived there with a bag, who were identified by the informer as Zahir Khan and Saleem. After sometime, Amit Gulati came there from the market side and all the three were apprehended,” Mr. Yadav said. The police claimed as many as 100 mobile phones were recovered from the bag.
The IMEI numbers of some phones were found tampered with as the numbers mentioned on stickers physically stuck to phones were different from their actual IMEI numbers.
“Interrogationrevealed that Zaheer used to run a mobile phone repairing shop at his residence. He had come in contact with Salim, a snatcher. After committing theft, he would hand over the stolen mobile phones to Zaheer. Thereafter, the same were sold to Amit Gulati, reportedly after tampering with their IMEI numbers. Gulati used to run a mobile phone sale-purchase counter in Gaffar Market, Karol Bagh,” Mr. Yadav said.
