In a surprising turn of events, Bengaluru police uncovered a sprawling interstate mobile phone theft network after an unattended courier box sparked an investigation. The arrests of two key suspects, C Sreenivas (29) from Bhadravati and Shafiq KP from Palakkad, have led to the recovery of 52 stolen mobile phones worth over Rs 10 lakh. Police are now hunting for 15 more gang members involved in stealing and reselling high-end smartphones.
The investigation began on October 24 when a courier official reported a box that had been sent from Bhadravati to Kochi but was returned unclaimed. Despite repeated calls to the sender, no response was received, prompting police to inspect the package. “We followed the mahajar procedure and opened the box, which contained 10 used mobile phones,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police S Girish. Following this, Sreenivas was picked up from his home in Bhadravati for questioning. Police discovered that Sreenivas had been previously arrested for similar crimes and had been involved in the theft of around 100 mobile phones.
Based on Sreenivas’s information, police then arrested Shafiq KP from Palakkad, recovering an additional 32 stolen mobile phones. The two suspects, along with other gang members, had been stealing phones at crowded events such as religious festivals, political rallies, and busy markets. They typically targeted men, often those who were intoxicated, and used pickpocketing techniques to snatch the phones.
Sreenivas further revealed that he had sent the stolen phones to Cibin, a key receiver in Kochi, but Cibin was unavailable when the courier arrived. Fearing police attention, Cibin failed to respond to the courier company’s attempts to reach him, which delayed the discovery of the crime.
The case is ongoing as police continue to investigate the gang’s activities and work to apprehend other members involved in the theft ring.