Mobile theft racket: Madhapur police arrest one person, 564 smartphones recovered
The stolen mobiles were bought from suppliers in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and sold them to the main dealer in Hyderabad
By Newsmeter Network Published on 9 Aug 2023 9:11 AM GMT
Hyderabad: A 54-year-old man was arrested by the Special Operation Team (SOT) in the Madhapur Zone and Raidurgam Police for his involvement in a cell phone theft racket. He purchased stolen smartphones from suppliers in other states and sold them to a dealer in Hyderabad.
A total of 564 smartphones, Rs 3,00,000 cash, two personal mobiles, and one four-wheeler, all worth Rs 1.92 Crore, were seized.
The accused has been identified as Garadi Ramanji, a native of Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh.
Addressing the media, Deputy Commissioner of Police Madhapur Zone G Sandeep said the accused, Ramanji, who resides in LB Nagar, worked as an RTC conductor in Falaknuma Depot from 1995 to 2005.
After that, he has been doing the real estate business. Incurred with huge losses in the real estate business, he started earning money easily by procuring cell phones from mobile snatching offences at a low rate from other states and transporting them in large quantities to receivers in Hyderabad.
In 2016, the accused went to jail from Shameerpet police station limits under the illegal possession of stolen mobiles case. After he got released from jail, he continued doing the same. In 2021, he was also involved in a case of illegal land trespass at Abdullapurmet PS of Rachakonda Commissionerate.
On August 8, on credible information, SOT Madhapur, along with Raidurgam Police conducted vehicle checks and found a vehicle smuggling stolen mobile phones. When checked, four thermocol boxes and three black colour bags containing 563 smart mobile phones were found.
"On detailed enquiry, the accused revealed that the stolen mobile phones were bought from Akash and Sunny of Akiveedu, Andhra Pradesh and Vamsi of Karnataka for Rs 2000-4000. He sells them to the main receivers, namely Asif and Arshad of Hyderabad, at a higher price and made a profit on them," said the DCP.
The mobile phone suppliers: Akash, Sunny, Vamshi, and receivers Asif and Arshad of Hyderabad are absconding.
