Gang which changed mobile phone's unique id number busted

With the arrest of four men including a software engineer, Indore Police on Tuesday claimed to have busted a gang which changed the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number of mobile phones.

Change of IMEI makes the phone untraceable.

The police also seized 192 mobile phones from the accused's possession.

The arrested persons were identified as Jitendra Rajput, a software engineer who was allegedly the leader of the gang, Raju Sengar, Sanjay Patel and Bharat Vaswani.

Senior Superintendent of Police Ruchivardhan Mishra told reporters that the accused changed the IMEI numbers of stolen mobile phones by charging Rs 200 to 300 apiece.

Every mobile has a unique IMEI, and with certain apps, a stolen phone can be traced by the owner if this number is known.

The accused would receive mobile phones from Delhi, Mumbai and other cities, Mishra said.

"They changed the IMEI number with the help of a special software, after which the phone could not be traced," she said.

The phone would be then resold.

The gang is suspected to have altered IMEI numbers of about 5,000 phones in the last two years, she added.

Police were searching for some other members of the gang, Mishra said.