Delhi Police bust mobile tower racket, three held

New Delhi: The Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has busted a major racket involved in the theft and illegal disposal of mobile tower equipment, leading to the arrest of three men and the recovery of 30 Remote Radio Units (RRUs).

An anonymous source tipped the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police about the racket.

The accused were identified as Chanderkant alias Atul (25) son of Ajay Kumar, Zahid (34) son of Abdul Zabbar, resident of Jaffrabad, Delhi, and Sameer alias Aftab (26) son of Saleem, resident of Shyam Lal Lane, PS Garden Reach, Metiabruz, Kolkata.

According to the police, investigations have revealed interstate and international links, with the stolen equipment being smuggled through cargo consignments to Hong Kong and further routed to China.

Acting on specific intelligence, a team of the Crime Branch raided a location in New Jaffrabad on August 23, and arrested Zahid and Chanderkant alias Atul.

Ten RRUs were recovered from their possession, some of which were linked to theft cases in Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan. A case was registered, and both accused were remanded to police custody.

Follow-up raids led to the arrest of Sameer alias Aftab from Malviya Nagar. His interrogation revealed the recovery of 20 more stolen RRUs from the office of a cargo company in Mahipalpur, which were about to be shipped abroad.

Sameer admitted to smuggling hundreds of RRUs using fabricated documents, earning up to 50,000 rupees per unit.

Investigators also discovered the involvement of a mobile tower installation contractor in Rajasthan, who provided the technical expertise to detach the RRUs from towers.

The accused transported stolen equipment via interstate bus services to Delhi before sending consignments overseas under the guise of amplifiers.

Of the 30 recovered RRUs, 11 have been linked to theft cases across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh. Police confirmed that at least 16 theft incidents have been solved through this breakthrough.

The accused come from modest financial backgrounds but gradually shifted into organized crime.

While Zahid and Chanderkant handled storage, testing, and repacking of the stolen devices, Sameer managed exports and built networks in Hong Kong.

Officials said the operation exposed a new modus operandi in telecom infrastructure theft, with the potential to disrupt communication services.

The Crime Branch emphasized that the success of this operation was the result

of sustained surveillance, intelligence gathering, and coordinated field efforts.