2 held for selling stolen mobiles after changing IMEI numbers

The police have arrested two men, who allegedly used to buy stolen mobile phones and sell them after changing the IMEI numbers.
As many as 65 stolen mobile phones, instruments used to change their IMEIs, break phone locks and bypass Google accounts were seized from the accused, said Romil Baaniya, Deputy Commissioner of Police (south-east).
On June 23, the police received information that two members of a gang dealing in stolen mobile phones would come near the Air Force Station, near Monkey Park on Mehrauli- Badarpur road, on a bike.
Subsequently, the two men -- Mehtab Malik and Praveen Kumar -- were nabbed and four cell phones each were seized from their possession, said the DCP.

During interrogation, Malik told the police that he used to buy stolen mobiles and change their IMEIs with the help of high-end devices before selling them, he added.
Once the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number of a phone is changed, it becomes impossible for the investigating agencies to track it further.

Malik also told the police that he used latest gadgets to break the pattern locks of the stolen phones, bypass the Google accounts and change the IMEIs.
Subsequently, the police seized 61 more stolen mobile phones and gadgets from the accused's house in Badarpur.
Malik, who has two wives, told the police that to sustain the two marriages, he had got involved in illegal activities.