Mumbai: CP fetes Trombay police team after mid-day special

Commissioner of Police Vivek Phansalkar, with the Trombay police team, on Wednesday

After mid-day highlighted the growing scope of mobile theft rackets and the painstaking investigation by the Trombay police in one such case, Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar on Wednesday met the team and expressed his appreciation for their hard work.

This newspaper in its July 9 edition reported how the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR), a central government initiative to track and block stolen phones, comes at a time when the mobile phone black market has gone international. Once sold to retailers in Mumbai and nearby areas, phones that are stolen from the city are now being smuggled into countries like Nepal and Bangladesh, where they are sold in the open markets at throwaway rates.

In August last year, the Trombay police started an investigation into a complaint about a stolen iPhone, and arrested three accused, recovering a total of 131 stolen phones. Not only did the police trace the scope of the racket all the way to Bangladesh, but they also discovered that the highly organised racket had a money laundering component. One of the accused would disburse the cash he got in exchange for the phones by giving it to his colleagues and taking the same amount through UPI wallets.

The CEIR portal lets the police track locations of mobile phones after their IMEI numbers are entered. More importantly, the police can block the phones using the CEIR's technology, rendering them unusable and killing their resale value. "It is important for citizens to remember that they, too, can report their phones stolen via CEIR. For an initiative that is so useful, public participation is essential and increases its effectiveness," Phansalkar said, adding, "Mumbai police is committed to serving Mumbaikars better and making the city a safer place."

131
No of stolen phones recovered