People walking the streets of Bhopal had no idea that the phones in their pockets and hands were being watched by smugglers operating across the border. When Ayodhya Nagar police nabbed four hardened mobile snatchers, they slowly uncovered a network whose roots ran from the notorious 'Irani Dera' in Bhopal's Aman Colony to Mumbai, the country's financial capital, and onward to the borders of neighbouring Bangladesh.
A route straight out of a crime thriller
The gang's method was no less dramatic than a Bollywood crime thriller. Phones snatched from Bhopal's lanes were rushed to Mumbai through couriers and foot soldiers. There, in the underworld and the grey markets, the IMEI numbers of these phones were flashed or tampered with so that Indian agencies could never trace them.
The expensive, premium handsets were cut up into pieces. Their screens, costly cameras and motherboards were sold to local Mumbai shopkeepers at high prices. The phones that were still working were smuggled illegally across the Bangladesh border through sea and land routes.
Sabdar Irani is the mastermind
Ayodhya Nagar station in-charge Mahesh Lilhare said four accused were caught in the Ayodhya Nagar area, and 22 mobiles were recovered from them. Questioning revealed that the hub of this entire network was the Irani Dera and its kingpin is Sabdar Irani. This gang would send the mobiles first to Mumbai and from there to Bangladesh.
The arrested men said Sabdar bought each mobile phone for three to four thousand rupees. His henchmen were spread across Bhopal areas such as Sewania, Govindpura, Piplani and Ayodhya Nagar.
Senior police officer Anil Sharma also believes that the IMEI numbers of these phones are flashed right at the start so the criminals stay out of reach. He added that the possibility of these phones being used in unethical or wrongful activities cannot be ruled out.
A raid six months ago too
This is not the first time the Irani Dera has made headlines. Exactly six months ago, police raided the spot at midnight with a heavy force. At that time 32 accused were arrested and 51 mobiles were recovered. It is clear that even after going to jail, this syndicate does not stop.
Police now aim not just to catch these small fish, but to dismantle the entire chain, from the big buyers sitting in Mumbai to the smugglers active on the Bangladesh border. For now, the hunt is on for Sabdar Irani, whose arrest is expected to bring out many more secrets of this international network.
