Delhi Police busts Nepal-linked stolen mobile racket 40 phones recovered two held

New Delhi, Apr 30 (PTI) The Delhi Police has busted an organised racket involved in trafficking stolen mobile phones to Nepal, arrested two accused and recovered 40 devices, an official said on Thursday.
     The accused have been identified as Md Shahnawaj alias Shaan (43), a resident of Delhi's Nand Nagari, and Md Rizwan (45), a native of Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur.
     Rizwan, who allegedly acted as the Nepal-based receiver, was apprehended minutes before he could escape towards the Nepal border with a consignment of stolen phones, police said.
     Police laid a trap near Crown Plaza parking in east Delhi and caught Shahnawaj while he was allegedly delivering stolen mobile phones. Six devices were recovered from his possession. Simultaneously, Rizwan was intercepted near Ghazipur while attempting to board a bus with a trolley bag containing 34 stolen phones.
     Verification through the CEIR portal and ZIPNET revealed that all 40 recovered phones were linked to theft cases and lost reports, with police stating that six cases have been worked out so far. These include cases registered at police stations in Kashmiri Gate, Keshav Puram, Kamla Market, Paharganj, Kalindi Kunj and Kishangarh.
     According to investigators, the racket involved purchasing stolen mobile phones at throwaway prices from local thieves and receivers in Delhi and transporting them to Nepal, where they were sold at higher rates, making tracing and recovery difficult.
     “The accused used to earn a profit of around Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 per phone,” a senior officer said.
     During interrogation, Rizwan allegedly disclosed that he had been running the illegal trade for nearly a decade and had trafficked thousands of stolen mobile phones to Nepal, where he had also set up a shop using the proceeds of crime.
     Police said Shahnawaj is a habitual offender with prior involvement in seven cases related to theft and the Arms Act, while Rizwan has previous cases of theft and assault registered in Uttar Pradesh.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)