Police seize hundreds of stolen phones in gang bust
Print Edition
IN the biggest bust of its kind in Shanghai, police seized 928 stolen mobile phones in an operation targeting a 19-member gang that police say preyed on commuters.
The suspects are 13 pickpockets, a man who allegedly bought the phones and five men who operated a stand selling phones near Shanghai Railway Station.
The stolen phones are believed to be worth four million yuan (US$602,000).
The alleged buyer, surnamed Ma, met with the pickpocket suspects near the railway station every morning at 10am and sold the phones to the owners of the stand at 3pm, said police. Ma bought the phones for 1,000 to 3,000 yuan each, police said.
Huang Hanke, a police officer from Shanghai Metro Police’s Shanghai Railway Station branch, who is in charge of the case, said the phones were sold as second-hand merchandise to both shoppers at the stand and customers on the internet.
The police have so far managed to identify the owners of about 250 phones and get into contact with 50.
“The job is not easy for us because many of the phones have already been [interfered with] by the suspects,” Huang said.
A few victims said they were listening to music with earphones plugged into their phone when they were pickpocketed.
Cui Lei, who had his phone stolen at a Metro station in Pudong during rush hour one day in March, said he reported the theft to a policemen at the station right away but didn’t expect it to be recovered.
“I got a call from the police when I was in Europe on a business trip last month, and I was surprised and grateful,” he told Shanghai Daily.
Victims of phone theft are advised to report it to police with the purchase receipt and the IMEI number, a 15-digit number assigned to all cellular devices.
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