Police have arrested three alleged members of an interstate gang in Madhya Pradesh's Dewas district and recovered 400 stolen mobile phones worth Rs 1.5 crore, an official said on Thursday.
Dewas Superintendent of Police Puneet Gehlod identified the accused as Suraj Singh Pardi, 30, a resident of Ujjain district, and Shubham Rathore, 28, of Indore. All three accused have previous criminal cases registered against them, he said.
The recovered phones had allegedly been stolen from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan, as well as the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Gehlod said. Police also seized Rs 6 lakh in cash.
The racket came to light during an investigation into two mobile phone thefts at sweet shops in Dewas on September 13 and 21. CCTV footage and technical evidence helped the police identify the gang under Operation Trinetram, the SP said.
According to Gehlod, gang members allegedly stole mobile phones from crowded markets, railway stations and other public places before transporting them to Indore.
Rathore allegedly collected the stolen phones and facilitated their onward sale, he said.
Police are investigating whether the gang was also involved in smuggling stolen mobile phones abroad, Gehlod added.