Noida: Eight persons, including two alleged snatchers and six receivers of stolen phones, were arrested with 98 mobile phones, hundreds of spare parts, a stolen motorcycle and an illegal knife on Wednesday.DCP (central Noida) Shailendra Kumar Singh said cops carried out a raid after receiving a tip-off about a gang involved in mobile phone snatching, theft and the disposal of stolen devices.Cops initially arrested Kushal (19) and Rupesh alias Golu (21) from the Sector 63 green belt area. A stolen phone, a stolen motorcycle linked to a theft case registered at Mandawali police station in Delhi, and an illegal knife were seized from their possession.During interrogation, the duo told cops that they targeted pedestrians and women by snatching their mobile phones. Kushal, who worked as a Rapido rider, told police that he and Rupesh sold the stolen phones to a group of receivers operating from Noida.Based on their disclosure, police arrested six more accused identified as Nizamuddin, Arif, Sonu, Chotte, Gulfam and Haroon, all originally from Chaukiya village in Shahjahanpur.Subsequently, cops arrested Nizamuddin, Arif, Sonu, Chotte, Gulfam and Haroon.Police recovered 97 additional mobile phones from their possession, taking the total recovery to 98 mobile phones, including 49 smartphones, 25 keypad phones and 24 dismantled phones. Besides the handsets, officers also seized 100 mobile displays, 207 batteries, 103 mobile back panels, 40 mobile phone boxes and 10 screwdrivers allegedly used to dismantle the devices.The accused said that they would buy the stolen phones for Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 each, depending on their condition. They would then dismantle the devices, separate the reusable components and sell the parts to an unidentified buyer who regularly visited them. The accused claimed they did not know the buyer’s identity and had no contact information.Sector 63 police station SHO Amit Kakran said the six accused frequently change their place of residence to avoid detection.Kushal and Rupesh have prior criminal records, including cases of theft, possession of illegal arms and other offences registered against them. The criminal histories of the other accused are being verified.The recovered phones are being matched with complaints registered across different police stations, and efforts are on to identify the buyer. All eight accused have been produced before the court and further investigation is in progress, police added.
