NEW DELHI, July 20: The Delhi Police arrested a receiver and international supplier of stolen mobile phones and recovered 42 smartphones from his shop in Karol Bagh, an official said on Sunday. The accused, identified as Satender Pratap Singh alias Surjeet (47), a resident of Mahroli in Delhi, was allegedly preparing to ship the stolen devices to Nepal when he was apprehended, he said.
"With his arrest, four mobile theft cases were solved in the national capital, and investigations are ongoing to link more cases," the officer added.
According to the police, Surjeet was previously involved in at least 10 criminal cases, including mobile theft, house theft, snatching and robbery. He had also supplied over 300 to 400 stolen mobile phones to Nepal in the past. Acting on a tip-off about the illegal activity, a raid was conducted on July 19 at Surjeet's shop by a crime branch team. During the raid, 42 mobile phones were recovered from the shop. These included 16 iPhones and several other high-end Android models. Initial investigation revealed that Surjeet allegedly operated as a key link between local thieves and international grey markets. He would purchase stolen and snatched mobile phones from street criminals and later route them to Nepal for resale.
"The accused confessed during interrogation that he had built his network while serving time in Tihar Jail, where he came in contact with several known criminals," the officer noted.
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