Authorities Recover 98 Phones and Hundreds of Parts in Major Raid

In a major crackdown on mobile theft, Noida’s Sector‑63 police have confiscated 98 stolen mobile phones along with a massive collection of related components. The operation, carried out on August 6, also led to the arrest of eight members of a well‑organized snatching gang.

The seized inventory includes 100 display assemblies, 207 batteries, 40 handset bodies, 103 back panels, ten screwdrivers, an illegal knife and a motorcycle reported missing from Delhi’s Mandawali area. Altogether, more than 300 distinct items were recovered, making it one of the largest seizures of stolen mobile hardware in recent memory.

Two of the arrested, identified as Kushal and Ramesh alias Golu, were caught after intelligence linked them to the green‑belt region of Sector‑63. Their interrogation revealed a systematic approach: snatch phones from pedestrians, sell them to a core group of six buyers, who then dismantle the devices for parts.

The six buyers—Nizamuddin, Arif, Sonu, Chotte, Gulfam and Harun—were apprehended in separate raids. All of them reportedly bought the stolen handsets for roughly ₹1,500‑₹2,000, a price that reflects the low‑cost market they operated in.

Most of the accused originated from districts of Uttar Pradesh but were residing in Noida’s Sector‑63 and nearby colonies. Their education levels range from fifth grade to tenth, with a few having no formal schooling.

Charges have been filed under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, and the police are now focusing on returning the recovered devices to their rightful owners while probing deeper into the network that facilitated the thefts.