A 36-year-old truck driver has been arrested for allegedly stealing iPhones from a consignment of the phones going to Dubai from the cargo area at the Indira Gandhi International Airport IGIA.
According to police, the accused Sunil Kumar, a resident of Palam village, who worked as a driver with Balaji Transport Company allegedly stole three iPhones from a shipment of 148 devices and offered one to a taxi driver after he and his accomplice failed to pay him for a trip. Police said Kumar and his helper, Vicky alias Lala, stole a sealed package containing iPhones while transporting cargo inside the airport premises. Vicky is still on the run.
Deputy Commissioner of Police IGIA Vichitra Veer said: “Swift recovery of all stolen phones and the arrest of the main accused is a major breakthrough. Our teams are working to nab the absconding co-accused”.
The theft came to light on September 1 when Global Freight Mart India, a freight forwarding company, shipped a consignment of 148 iPhones to Dubai. The shipment comprised 15 sealed boxes. On arrival, Dubai-based handler AJ World Cargo reported that three Apple iPhone 15 (256 GB) devices were missing. Following verification,
Global Freight Mart India lodged a complaint at IGIA police station.
A special team was formed under Inspectors Avdhesh and Virender Tyagi, working under ACP Pradeep Meena. The investigators relied on both technical surveillance and human intelligence. One of the stolen phones was traced to Sonipat, Haryana, where it was recovered from a taxi driver.
During questioning, the driver revealed that two heavily drunk passengers had hired him from IGI Airport for a trip to Rohtak. On the return journey, they refused to pay in cash and instead offered him an iPhone 15. Believing it to be genuine, the driver accepted, adjusting Rs 5,000 as fare and paying an additional Rs 15,000 for the mobile phone.
The second phone was recovered from Palam Village. Statements and descriptions provided by the men in possession of the stolen devices helped police zero in on Sunil Kumar. After several raids, Kumar was arrested on September 26. During interrogation, he confessed to stealing the phones with Vicky. The third missing handset was later recovered from his hideout in Palam Village, where he had concealed it for later sale.
Investigators described Kumar as a habitual offender, with more than 10 previous cases of theft and snatching registered against him. “He exploited his access as a driver inside the cargo area to commit this theft,” said a senior officer.
Police added that efforts are on to track down Vicky alias Lala, who remains absconding, and to determine whether the duo is linked to other similar thefts.