Chikkaballapur, 29 April

Police have arrested seven individuals in a major mobile phone theft case reported in November 2024 and recovered 56 stolen handsets. Additionally, with support from the Department of Telecommunications, authorities are deactivating another 4,084 mobile phones linked to the crime.

Chikkaballapur Superintendent of Police Kushal Chousky revealed that on 28 November, Padmanabh, Manager at Safe Speed Carriers, filed a complaint with Peresandra Police after a container with 6,660 mobile phones worth nearly Rs 3 crore being transported from Noida to Bengaluru was stolen from Reddy Gollarahalli. The driver, Rahul, had gone missing.

Following the complaint, Rahul was arrested on 10 December in Miyo village, Haryana.

Further investigation led by DySP Ravikumar KY and Inspector Surya Prakash uncovered six more accomplices. The accused had transferred the stolen consignment into another truck, moved it to New Delhi, and distributed the phones across 18 states, selling them at reduced prices.

Unwitting customers had been using the devices, now being blocked by telecom authorities. Police are continuing efforts to trace and recover the remaining phones. Transport and mobile company officials cooperated fully in the investigation.