Cops bust inter-state stolen mobile racket

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police has busted an inter-state racket dealing in stolen mobile phones and arrested two men, seizing 83 high-end handsets from their possession, officials said on Sunday.

Acting on a tip-off, a team conducted a raid at a rented premises in Yamuna Vihar on Friday, where the accused -- Saavej, 34, and Fardeen, 25 -- were caught red-handed while packing stolen mobile phones for dispatch, police said.

A sealed carton containing 83 stolen mobile phones of brands like Apple, Samsung, OnePlus, Vivo, Oppo and Realme was recovered from the spot.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused procured stolen phones from a supplier identified as Danish and was sending them through courier services to contacts in Bangladesh via West Bengal,” the officer said. Several of the recovered phones have been linked to theft cases registered in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Verification of IMEI numbers through the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) portal confirmed that the entire consignment was stolen, police said.

Saavej has a prior criminal record and has been involved in multiple cases of robbery, possession of stolen property and the Arms Act in Uttar Pradesh.

Further investigation is underway to identify other members of the racket.