3 people arrested with 193 stolen mobile phones in Mathura

The police arrested three people and recovered 193 stolen mobile phones worth over Rs 19 lakh from them in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, an officer said on Monday.

According to officials, the phones were among a lot of 8,990 that were looted from a truck on the Uttar Pradesh-Madhya Pradesh border in early October while being transported from a factory in Greater Noida to Bengaluru.

"The accused were arrested on Sunday when they were going towards Agra to dispose of the phones," Superintendent of Police (City) Martand Prakash Singh said.

The arrested accused were identified as Shahbuddin of Mathura and Pawan Kumar and Raju Mandal from Delhi, the police said.

Eighteen accused involved in the racket have been arrested so far and a total of 2,767 mobile phones recovered from their possession.

The cost of recovered phones is stated to be Rs 2,76,70,000.

The police have also recovered Rs 37,92,000 in cash from the accused.

The loot took place on October 5.

According to a complaint filed by a manager of Oppo Mobile Company, the truck left Greater Noida on October 5 morning for Bengaluru after loading mobile phones. Two people boarded the vehicle as passengers from Gwalior bypass of Farah police station area. As soon as the truck crossed the Babina toll in Jhansi, they allegedly beat up the driver and threw him out of the vehicle in Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh and fled with the truck, the police said.

They later deserted the empty truck in Manpur police station area of Sheopur district, the police said.