Hyderabad: Five persons involved in stealing and selling stolen cell phones were arrested by the Central Zone police and property worth Rs 16 lakh was recovered from them. Officials seized about 80 phones, ranging from high-end Iphones, entry level Android phones and basic models.
The men were identified as Mohd. Mahboob, Shaik Nazeer Ahmed, Mohd Nazeeruddin, Mohd Mohsin and Abdul Ghani, who were working in collaboration for six months by stealing cell phones, unlocking the passwords and selling them at shops in Jagadish Market, Abids.
Following a complaint of cell phone theft at Musheerabad police station on June 5, police detained Mahboob and Nazeer Ahmed on Friday.
Police said that Mahboob was an ex-offender, involved in several pickpocketing cases in various police station limits of the city.
Mahboob and Nazeer Ahmed were stealing expensive mobile phones from passengers at railway stations, bus stops, buses and other crowded places. The duo were selling the phones to Nazeeruddin and Mohsin through Ghani.
“Mohsin unlocks passwords and security patterns of mobiles and clones their IMEI numbers using a laptop and other equipment. Nazeeruddin runs a shop at Jagadish Market and sells the stolen phones,” police said.
They added that the phones were being sold to customers in Bangkok too.
