Phone theft racket busted, 31 held with ₹2 crore worth mobiles
HYDERABAD: Hyderabad police have arrested a gang of 31 mobile phone thieves and recovered around 700 high-end smartphones worth ₹2 crore from them.
According to officials, the gang operated across several cities and had an organised network that stretched from pickpocketing in crowded areas to smuggling phones overseas. The seized devices were stolen from busy zones such as bus stations, railway stations, and cinema halls.
Crowded zones targeted
A photographer named Bashir, who was taking pictures near Bell Township, lost his phone worth ₹1.2 lakh when a thief snatched it from his pocket in the crowd. Before he could dial his own number, the phone was switched off. Such incidents have become routine in the city, with snatching gangs stealing dozens of phones every day, police said.
Many thieves board buses pretending to be passengers and escape after stealing phones. However, investigators said these local thieves are only small players, with several large gangs operating behind them. In some cases, gangs advance money to petty thieves and ensure the stolen phones are never switched on again to avoid tracing.
Phones shipped abroad
Once collected, the stolen devices are sold to intermediary groups operating in markets like Abids and Jagadish Market. After accumulating dozens of units, they sell them to international smuggling networks. With the help of technicians, these gangs change the phones’ IMEI numbers before exporting them via air cargo or ships from ports such as Mumbai and Chennai to African nations mainly South Sudan where second-hand phones fetch high prices.
Police sources said demand for used smartphones is particularly high in conflict-ridden regions such as South Sudan.
Nationwide theft data
According to data from the Department of Telecommunications’ CEIR (Central Equipment Identity Register) portal, launched on May 16, 2023, more than 40,15,798 phones have been reported stolen across India so far averaging about 4,615 thefts every day.
Authorities managed to trace 24,84,264 devices (61.86%) and return 6,58,153 to their owners. Investigators estimate that over 38% of stolen phones end up with organised crime syndicates.
Among Indian states, Karnataka recorded the highest number of traced phones at 4.2 lakh, followed by Telangana with 3.8 lakh and Uttar Pradesh with 2.4 lakh. However, Telangana led in recovery efficiency with a 43% success rate, ahead of Andhra Pradesh at 41% and Karnataka at 39%. Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra reported comparatively lower recovery rates of 36%, 30%, and 25%, respectively.
