4 boys held for stealing cell phones from taxis

The Dindoshi police have detained four members of a gang of mobile thieves on Monday. The arrested are minors between the age group of 13 and 17. The sources said that most of them are collegegoing students.

They indulged in this crime to meet their pocket expenses, said the source.

The boys used to target the radio taxis parked in Malad area and steal the mobile phones installed in them.

The police is searching one of their accomplices.

The modus operandi of the boys is that they steal the mobile from the taxis and change or erase the 15-digit International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number of the stolen handsets with the help of a software before selling these in the grey market at cheaper rate.

The IMEI number of a cell-phone is unique and believed to be tamper proof. But such racketeers use a small software called Flasher to erase the IMEI number and superimpose a new one to make it impossible for police to track the stolen cell phones.

However, their parents were unaware of the activities of their children.

All of them have been sent to juvenile correctional home in Mumbai.

The police have recovered 60 android phones from their possession.

The price of few handsets is in lakh. More such recovery is expected as police are carrying out raids at several places at the time of going to press.