New Delhi: A 29-year-old man was arrested for running a stolen mobile phone resale racket in northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri. Police recovered 281 smartphones during a raid at a mobile repair shop where the accused allegedly sourced the devices from snatchers and petty thieves, tampered with their IMEI numbers and body parts, and resold them locally as refurbished or second-hand phones.According to police, information about the illegal operation was received through a tip-off on June 10. Based on the input, a police team conducted a raid on a shop located opposite a cinema hall in C-Block, Jahangirpuri. At the premises, police officers apprehended Javed Ali Saha, a resident of Jahangirpuri.“During preliminary questioning, Javed confessed to buying stolen phones from local criminals, modifying both their hardware and internal identifiers, and selling them for profit. A search of the premises led to the recovery of 281 smartphones, most of them packed in bags and cartons,” said DCP (north west) Bhisham Singh.Initial checks confirmed that four of the recovered devices were listed in FIRs registered at Adarsh Nagar and Bhalswa Dairy police stations, cops said. “Javed failed to provide ownership proof for the rest. Around 130 phones had readable IMEI numbers; the rest were locked or powered off. Investigating police officers are conducting technical analysis through the CEIR portal to trace the original owners,” DCP Singh added.Javed was arrested and his police custody was obtained to trace the full supply chain, including upstream sources and local distributors, police said. Javed was previously involved in a robbery case. Efforts are underway to link the remaining seized phones with pending theft or snatching FIRs.
