Man held with 200+ stolen phones worth Rs 11 lakh

MUMBAI: While investigating a case of mobile thefts on the railways, GRP stumbled upon a big-time dealer in stolen phones. Jeet Ghosh (40) was arrested and 217 stolen cellphones worth Rs 11.5 lakh were recovered from his Nalasopara residence. Police said Ghosh's modus operandi was to dismantle stolen phones and sell spare parts separately to avoid getting detected.
"A Dharavi resident, Mohiddur Ansari (32), had registered a complaint with us when his phone was stolen on the railways on July 20. Tracking down the IMEI number led us to Ghosh's residence. He had thrown out Ansari's SIM card and inserted his own into the phone," said senior inspector Prasad Pandhre, Dadar GRP. The rookie mistake put a stop to Ghosh's career in crime as police landed up at his doorstep.
"Ghosh had never been caught before. He told us he would operate out of Chor Bazaar, where he bought stolen phones from thieves. He would then dismantle them and sell spare parts, such as covers and batteries. In some cases, he sold off the entire piece. People bought the mobiles as they were sold at throwaway prices. For instance, last week, Ghosh sold off an iPhone worth Rs70,000 for only Rs4,000," said Pandhre.
Police will publicise IMEI numbers of all stolen phones recovered from Ghosh, so that their owners can come forward to make their claims. "The phones found with Ghosh have been stolen on the railways as well as outside their premises.
Ghosh told police that he mostly purchased stolen phones from gangs of women and children who begged in trains. "We will look out for these women and children," said an officer.
Ghosh has been remanded by a railway court to police custody till July 24.